Shugo Chara Pirates
by Twilit Phoenix
Summary: Amu moves to a town protected by the pirate hunting Guardians. Easter, a group of evil pirates, attacks in search of the Embryo. Battles erupt between the two enemies over heart's eggs, and Amu soon finds herself falling for a certain pirate in Easter.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Shugo Chara Pirates (Yes… what a boring name… I know…)

**Summary**: Amu moves to a town protected by the pirate hunting guardians as a normal girl, until she is swept into the confliction with the Guardians and Easter. Easter, a group of evil pirates, attacks the town in search of the Embryo. Several battles erupt between the Guardians and Easter over the collection heart's eggs. Amu joins the guardians but soon finds herself falling for a certain pirate in Easter's crew.

**Note:** This my first Shugo Chara story… yeah! Yep, it's a pirate one, I hope everyone enjoys it.

Just so everyone knows, I'm starting the story kinda at the total beginning, where Amu really has no clue about the guardians or the charas or the lock and key, so I hope no one gets too confused.

Also it should be noted that they are in a totally different world (AU I guess) where some things are old style but not everything… example: no electricity, older time clothing, but boys and girls both go to school. You'll see what i mean...

I don't know what my updating schedule for this story will be with school, but it won't be unreasonable… With that said, onto the story!

* * *

Chapter 1:

Amu looked out her balcony at the sunset over the sea. She had never seen the ocean before her parents had decided to move to this town on the water. She was mad at them for it.

She hated everything about this place. She hated her new house, she hated this new town, she knew she'd hate her new school, but she could not hate the ocean. So she hated _almost_ everything. A knock at her door made her turn to face her mother.

"Here's your uniform for tomorrow Amu," she smiled. Amu grabbed it and sighed. Her first day at her new school was tomorrow. Her mother closed the door as Amu looked at the long dress. She already missed her old school where she had worn a cute light-blue skirt and a matching button-down shirt with everyone else as her daily outfit. She wondered to herself what other differences there would be living in a large city as opposed to her old town in the country.

Flopping down under the covers of her bed, Amu blew out the candle sitting on her bedside table and closed her eyes. She hoped the sun decided to sleep in the next day.

---o---

"Amu! Amu!" yelled a far-too-energetic voice in her ear.

"Time to get up sleepy-head!" added a second voice. Amu scowled; her pleas to the sun had gone unanswered. She opened her eyes to her three charas, floating above her head. Ran, Miki, and Suu had all appeared as eggs two days ago when she woke up, along with a yellow, fourth egg who had yet to hatch.

"You're still here?" Amu questioned with a yawn as she sat up in bed.

"Of course!" Ran exclaimed. The pink chara put her little hands on her hips.

"We're Amu's guardian characters," Suu explained, "we're always here."

"Unless you don't believe in us," the last floating girl mumbled somewhat sadly. Amu looked at each one of them for a long moment before jumping out of bed and grabbing up her uniform. She slipped on the solid ivory dress and looked at herself in the mirror, not liking the plainness of the outfit at all. The high collar and the lacy pieces at her sleeves and ankles were not to her liking either. After a few alterations, Amu strode from the room satisfied, her charas flying behind her.

The school was only a short walk from her house; Amu had visited it with her parents when they had first moved to the town a little more than a week ago. On her way out the door, her mother wished her good luck and her father called after her saying 'watch out for pirates'. Amu closed the door confused. She hurried to school, noticing her charas following her. Amu panicked.

"Wait! You guys can't come! No one should see you!" Amu stuttered, grabbing them from the air and holding them gently to her chest.

"No one can see-" Miki began to say, but Amu didn't hear her as she shoved the three of them into her school bag and ran towards the school.

---o---

Amu sat alone outside in the grass with the lunch that her mother had packed for her. When the teacher had introduced her to the class, her actions had somehow convinced her classmates that she was cool.

Already she had heard the rumors they all believed about her. Not that Amu cared if they thought her parents were rich or that she was super cool for coming to school with the changes she had made to her uniform, but neither of those things seemed to help her make friends. So she sat alone and ate her lunch.

Her school bag unbuckled and the three charas tumbled out. They floated up to Amu and looked around. Amu took another bite of her food before she noticed them.

"What are you guys doing!" Amu whispered so no one would notice as she snatched Miki out of the air. Ran floated down to her clenched hands.

"Amu, only _you_ can see us," the girl stated. As if to state her point, Ran flew over in front of a boy's face that was reading a book and waved at him several times trying to get his attention. Amu froze as she watched, but soon realized that the boy could not see the little chara. That or he was very good at hiding the fact that he had not noticed a small pink girl standing on his book.

Amu let go of Miki. The blue chara floated up to hover with Suu. Ran joined them after a moment and they landed on Amu's head. Amu felt her nervousness ebb away while she listened to her charas laugh together as she finished her lunch.

After school had ended, Amu gathered up her stuff and walked towards the front entrance. Her charas had tucked themselves away inside her schoolbag so they wouldn't get separated in the crowd. Amu walked outside and noticed that the students had all paused and cleared the walkway to the school.

Five students, or who Amu thought were students, walked together towards the school. They wore something similar to the school uniform, except the dresses were shorter, coming just short of the two girls' knees instead of their ankles like Amu's did. She also noticed that they wore pants under them. Amu wondered why. She stepped with the crowd to the side as she watched them pass.

"Who are they?" Amu asked the nearest student. The boy looked to her with awe in his bespectacled eyes.

"They're the guardians," the boy answered, he seemed to be excited that Amu had spoken to him.

"Do they go to school here?" Amu questioned. The boy nodded.

"But only sometimes," he added, "they're very busy." That made Amu curious. What could keep these kids from school?

"With what?" Amu asked.

"They protect the town from pirates," the boy nodded. He turned back to watch the group disappear into the school and then moved with the crowd to return home. Amu stood stone still, dumbfounded. She had thought that her father was kidding about pirates this morning. She thought pirate attacks were only stories to keep kids from leaving the house alone at night.

Amu sighed and walked the few blocks downhill to her house where she shut herself in her room to do her homework after changing into her more comfortable clothing. She finished just in time for her mother to call her down for dinner.

While they ate, she asked her parents about pirates. Her charas happily munched food from her plate while she did; Amu paid them no notice.

Her father looked at her with fear in his eyes and asked if a pirate had hurt his baby and began sobbing. He had always been so emotional. Her mother calmly explained that since this was a busy town on the ocean that there was a small chance of it being invaded by pirates, but they shouldn't worry since pirating was a more common to the north and rarer where they lived.

Her father stopped his dramatic tears and reminded Amu to watch out for pirates once more. Amu nodded and excused herself from the table, her charas flitting after her to her room.

---o---

Halfway through the next day at school Amu was surprised to hear a loud bell tolling outside the school. The rest of the class stood in a swift motion; one Amu stumbled to follow, and moved behind the large wooden desk where their teacher usually sat. Her teacher mutely threw the deadbolt on the door locked and drew the thick curtains over the large windows. She reminded two boys to stop talking and sat with them in silence behind the desk. Amu huddled between two other girls, wondering what was happening. Ran, Miki, and Suu watched them from Amu's desk.

A shadow appeared under the door and the knob rattled, making Amu flinch. The noise stopped and Amu noticed that no one else looked concerned. After several silent minutes the bell rang again and everyone stood up like nothing had ever happened. Amu thought this was all a little too weird.

As their teacher unlocked the door and pulled the curtains back to let in the sun, Amu poked the girl in front of her.

"What was that?" she asked. The girl seemed surprised that Amu was talking to her at first, but then answered her question with a pleasant smile.

"A Pirate Drill," she replied.

"What?" asked Amu.

"The town sometimes gets attacked by pirates," she said, "so the school does these drills every year so we know what to do if the school is targeted."

"They usually don't come to the school though," the boy next to Amu added. Amu turned to him and listened, "they have better things to attack then a bunch of students."

"Didn't you have Pirates Drills at your old school?" asked the girl. Amu shook her head.

"Wow, your town must have had really good protection against them to not be worried," the boy said with awe.

"Yeah," Amu smiled nervously, "they weren't worried at all about pirates." Amu wasn't going to tell her classmates that it was because there was no way for pirates to attack her landlocked town that she had never sat through a pirate drill. She'd let them think what they wanted.

"That's so cool!" grinned the girl.

"Girls!" the teacher called, "quiet." The teacher turned back to the class and began talking once more, "remember, that once the doors to the classrooms are locked that they won't be reopened until the threat is over. So if you get locked out, don't go to the classrooms because you won't get in, go find a safe place to wait things out." The class nodded and the day went on as usual.

---o---

Amu leaned against the railing on her balcony looking at the stars over the ocean. There were so many. Amu sighed. She thought about the drill at school and about her father's warning about pirates each day and about the guardians who protected the town. She did not believe any of it. Her mother had said that pirates did not come this far south, and she had thought that pirating was less common these days anyway.

Amu rested her forehead against her hands and sighed, closing her eyes. The only good thing that had come from today was that she finally had an excuse to talk to her classmates. It felt good to talk with other kids; she had never been very good at making friends. At her old school she wasn't popular, but she had known a few girls who had been friendly with her and had come over to play on weekends. Now she was alone again.

"You're not alone Amu," Suu said, patting her head. Amu tensed, she thought she had kept that thought in her mind, maybe she had said it out loud by mistake.

"You've got us," said Miki. She landed by her hand on the railing. Ran grinned as well.

"You could always try being a little more honest at school and-" Amu interrupted her.

"But that's not who-" Amu began to say, before she was interrupted herself by her mother.

"Amu time for bed!" her mom called up the stairs.

"Ok!" Amu called back, dropping her conversation with her charas. She made her way into her bed and blew out the candle. The three charas made their way to the basket where their eggs were placed and joined her in sleep.

---o---

The rest of the week was uneventful, as was the next month. School days came and went without anything to keep them from meddling together into an unimportant memory. Her homework was simple, but without any friends to play with after school, Amu spent most of her time at home.

Amu sat under a tree for lunch at school several weeks later. Her charas were snoozing on the grass. She still had a lot of time before she had to go to class, so Amu decided a cat nap was a good idea. The sun was so warm. Apparently this city did not experience cold weather akin to the winters she had seen in her old town. She would miss the snow.

She closed her eyes and leaned against the tree, falling asleep for what she thought was a short nap.

She woke to an annoying sound of a bell ringing in the courtyard. Amu pushed her pink hair from her eyes and noticed no one was eating lunch anymore. She wondered how long she had slept. She turned to the large ornate clock that hung over the school's main entrance and jumped to her feet. She had been asleep for almost an hour.

"Why didn't you wake me up!" Amu shouted at her charas. They cringed and looked at their feet.

"Amu was sleeping so peacefully," Suu mumbled. Ran nodded. Miki shrugged. Amu noticed that annoying bell was still ringing.

"What is that?" she wondered aloud. Her charas turned to look at the clanging metal bell.

"Isn't that the same bell that rang for the Pirate-Drill?" asked Miki. Suu gasped and closed her eyes as her hands clasped in front of her chest.

"Amu!" Ran exclaimed, "it is!" Amu's mind registered the fact that she needed to get inside quickly. While she said she didn't believe pirates would attack the town, she decided today was not the day to test her theory.

She grabbed her bag and bolted to the front doors. She pulled on the doors only to find them locked tight. She struggled with them, panicking when she thought she heard shouts coming from down the street in town.

"Open up!" Amu shouted. She kicked the doors and then had to hop on one foot as pain spiraled up her leg. _That was probably a stupid idea_, Amu reflected.

"Amu!" Suu shouted, pulling on a lock of pink hair, "Ran found another building, the door looks open." Amu followed Suu and Miki around the school building to the back where she saw what appeared to be a glass building. She had no time to admire it as she threw open the doors and hurried inside. Her charas clung to her shoulders as she darted around a corner and found a set of stairs that led down hidden by a bunch of potted plants.

The glass walls of the building made Amu nervous that someone might see her, so she followed the steps into the dark. There was no light, and Amu tripped when she ran out of steps.

"It's so dark," Suu stated, trembling slightly. Amu felt her three charas around her face as she moved. Suu clung to the open collar on Amu's uniform; Ran sat on her shoulder; Miki floated above her head, but every now and then Amu would feel a strand of her hair pull as the blue chara fell behind.

"This should be far enough," Amu said to no one in particular as she sat down, sliding along the wall until she was on the ground. She could still see the light from the stairway and had no desire to go too far. If she listened carefully, she could still hear the pirate bell tolling in the schoolyard. _I wonder if anyone will know I'm missing_, she thought to herself.

"Amu," Ran said, scaring the girl who was still in her own thoughts, "can you hear that?" Amu blinked and looked around. There should be nothing that made any noise in this strange building.

"The bell?" asked Amu.

"No," Miki stated, "it's a humming sound."

"It's coming from back here," Suu said as she floated away from Amu.

"Suu!" Amu called. She didn't want to lose the little green chara in the darkness. A clunk was heard several feet to Amu's left and she jumped to her feet, her heart hammering in her chest. A soft light suddenly appeared where the noise had come from. Suu was illuminated in front of a sizeable hole in the wall for a chara to have made.

"Opps," she mumbled.

"Amu, it's in here," Miki said as she dove for the opening. She vanished. Ran and Suu followed her. Amu had no choice other to do the same. She crawled on her hands and knees, squeezing through the tiny opening. It might have looked big compared to Suu, but it was just big enough for her to fit through without banging her head.

The sound of ripping fabric made Amu pause and cringe. Her mother would kill her if she had done what she had thought she had. She stood and looked around the new room, dusting the dirt from her clothing, she felt a rip at the bottom of her dress and hoped it wouldn't be too noticeable.

The room was no more than the size of a large closet. A desk was piled high with papers and books of all colors and ages. It was amongst the mess that her three charas had landed. They surrounded a strangely smooth object that looked oddly familiar to Amu.

It was an egg. Except it had tiny little wings on each side and sat upright on the desk, sandwiched between a book with a bent spine and a small wooden box. Amu heard it humming contently, the sound was not unlike a cat purring when it was scratched. Amu reached out and poked it gently. The vibration quieted for a moment before increasing in strength, almost as if it relished her touch. Ran, Miki, and Suu watched silently as Amu lifted the porcelain egg into the air and looked at it.

She had no time to examine it before the book case to her left exploded. Amu screamed and ducked, covering the egg with her body so it would not break. She felt a strange desire to protect it, what if I contained a chara like the three that had hatched in her bed had? Or maybe something just as important lay undisturbed inside?

Coughing, Amu looked over to the shattered bookcase and saw a blue haired boy standing where it once had been. He was looking at her with some sort of interest in his eyes, but Amu was unsure of why. When she turned, he caught sight of the egg and Amu knew what he was after.

"Give me the egg," he stated plainly. He stepped into the light from the flickering candle that Amu wondered who had lit and how long it had been burning with his hand extended. Amu hugged the egg closer to her body. In the wavering light she could see the boy was a pirate, or at least a sailor of some sort. It was the cutlass in his belt that made Amu believe he was pirate, if him appearing as the alarm went off hadn't been proof enough. He grinned and took another step towards her, she stepped backwards into the wall.

"Amu," whispered Ran nervously as the three charas shrank backwards as well. Amu saw Ikuto glance at each of them and raised his eyebrow in slight interest, but she forgot about that as she finally noticed a strange feature about him; he had ears. Two cat ears made their way out of his hair along with a tail that twirled behind him. Amu was so surprised that she did not even notice him plucking the egg from her hands until almost a second too late.

She grabbed it back, pulling too hard on the egg and the two of them watched it crack open right down the center. The egg burst into two clean pieces. The boy dove for and grabbed each half before they could shatter on the ground and Amu was left with snatching the falling object that had appeared from within it. The object glowed brightly the moment her slender finger wrapped around it. Warmth filled her suddenly. Everything felt right. The pirate seemed to notice that he didn't hold the key item worth taking and advanced on her once more.

"The lock," he grinned, reaching to take it from her hands.

"No!" Amu stated. She wondered what had compelled her to say that. She knew she could very well be killed. The boy laughed, moving closer so that she had nowhere to go, trapped between him and the wall. He smiled confidently, his blue eyes never leaving her golden ones. Amu felt his hands as they wrapped around hers, slowly prying apart her fingers to take the item when another figure appeared in the doorway he had created in the wall.

"Ikuto!" shouted a new voice. Amu looked up and saw a blond haired boy with a scepter pointed at the pirate. The blue haired boy dropped Amu's hands and leaped nimbly backwards a few paces. Amu recognized her savior as one of the guardians. He seemed to notice her as well.

"I have no time to play Tadase," the boy, who Amu figured was Ikuto, scoffed. He twitched his tail, grinned wolfishly at Amu, and bashed through another wall with a giant blue paw. He vanished. The boy watched him go, apparently deciding whether or not to pursue him, before he turned to Amu.

"Are you ok?" the blond asked as he moved to help Amu. She nodded. She opened her hands and looked down at the object in her hands. It sparkled happily.

"The Humpty Lock!" Tadase exclaimed.

"The what?" asked Amu. She looked at the lock in her hands, wondering why it was glittering so much in the dim room.

"Here," Tadase offered, taking the lock from her hands and stepping behind her. He looped it around her neck like a necklace. Amu held it up to look at the piece again. "You found it," the blond haired boy explained, "the lock has been missing for almost a decade now. The only person who could find it was the person who was meant to have it. You found it, so it's your's."

"Thanks," Amu replied. She looked up and saw the blond boy was staring at her. She blushed madly and looked away.

"I h-have to get back to c-c-class," Amu stammered. She jumped over the fallen books and hurried from the room. Tadase watched her go.

Amu didn't go back to class. She raced home and collapsed onto her bed. No one was home, so Amu lay back and turned the golden lock over in her hands, examining it from every angle, wondering what it's function was and why it made her feel so secure. Ran, Miki, and Suu watched Amu as they floated above her.

Amu's heart had finally slowed down from her encounter. Every time she thought back to it, she felt a flush rise in her checks. The lock hummed softly at her neck. She held it up and watched it turn on the gold chain. _What makes this so special_? Amu wondered, _why would that boy want it so bad?_

"Who is he?" Amu mumbled aloud.

"What did you say?" asked Ran. Her charas turned to her and Amu flailed her arms in the air panicking.

"Nothing!" she denied hurriedly. She held the lock once more and thought about the two boys, the pirate Ikuto and the guardian Tadase. Suddenly, the life she had been living seemed shallow. As if her charas could pick up on her thoughts, they landed on her knees as she pulled them to her chest.

"Amu," Ran began to say.

"What are you guys anyway?" Amu asked, "you said you were my shugo charas, but what does that mean?"

"We're your would-be-selves," Miki stated, "who you want to be."

"Who I want to be?" Amu repeated slowly. She looked at each of her charas and then to the yellow egg, wondering _really_ who she wished she was. The conversation was dropped as Amu lay back down on her bed and held the glittering lock once more. Her mind replayed the scene of her meeting Ikuto and Tadase until she knew it by heart.

---o---

Amu followed the other girls in her class outside for their gym class the next day silently. No one seemed to have noticed that she missed the pirate attack yesterday, and no one seemed to know that the school had been infiltrated by at least one of the attacking pirates. Everyone had pushed the incident from their minds.

Their teacher told the girls that they would be playing a simple game of soccer. A lot of groans echoed from the girls. They were divided into two teams and the game began. Most of the girls stood in their spots and only moved if the ball was kicked their way. Amu noticed some of them kept watching the others to see what they were doing.

Amu wanted to run after the ball, but refrained since she was currently one of the girls standing still. It was in her cool character not to want to play. She had loved playing outside with her old friends at her old school, but that was not who she was in her new life. Amu jumped when she heard a voice in her head.

"_Come on Amu! Let's run_!" Amu suddenly felt all her inhibitions melt away. She leaped from her spot and ran full speed down the field to the ball where two girls were jogging towards the goal. Laughing to herself, Amu stole the ball from the other team who had intercepted a bad kick and advanced on the goal. She launched the ball at the goal and watched it sail over the girl's outstretched fingers into the net. Jumping into the air with her victory, she realized her previous inclination to not play had returned. She glanced at the other girls, embarrassment plain on her face.

One of her teammates gave her a thumbs up when the ball was retrieved and some of the other girls even told her that she had been amazing. Amu blushed at the praise and decided to do it again. The next few rounds, more girls attempted to play then before. Amu wondered if she had done that. After gym, Miki and Suu flew over to her from the sidelines. Amu looked around.

"Where's Ran?" she wondered.

"I've been playing soccer with you," the pink chara grinned, "that goal was so awesome!"

"Wait?! You did that!" Amu nearly shouted. Ran nodded and replied with a quick 'yep'.

"What did you do?" Amu demanded to know.

"Character Change," Miki explained.

"We're your shugo charas, so our powers are yours," Ran explained happily.

"So if you're good at sports," Amu guessed, "what do you two do?"

"It's a secret," Suu winked. Amu sighed and followed after her classmates back to the classroom.

* * *

That's the end of the first chapter…

This is going to be a shorter story, at least compared to my others. I think this first chapter is a little boring… but the next ones will involve more pirate action and lots of Ikuto-ness! So everything should get more exciting as the story builds xD


	2. Chapter 2

Yeah! Second chapter!

Chapter 2:

* * *

Several days later, Amu left school as the bell rang with her charas following behind her. She slung her bag over her shoulder and instead of heading home like she usually did after class, she turned left and walked towards the storefronts by the water. A wooden boardwalk had been built for customers to have more room to amble down the shops and gaze at the crashing waves. Amu had heard from the girls in her class that several miles south of the town there was a beautiful beach, but she hadn't seen it.

She walked past tall ships moored at the docks where sailors buzzed around them fixing the sails or loading provisions. Amu steered clear of them and moved closer to the shops. Her charas barely kept up with her since they were too awestruck by the activity. Several boys from school walked past her going in the other direction with bags.

Amu paused and glanced at the shops. She heard from the other girls that there was a store that sold cute clothing in this direction. She wondered where it was.

"Is it that one?" pointed Miki. Amu turned and smiled, seeing the shop her chara had spotted. She walked in. Her charas left her side to explore the store in wonderment. Amu needed new clothing to wear outside of school, and since her parents were busy, she had decided to shop today. She browsed for a while before picking out an outfit and paying for it. As she walked out, a group of girls entered. Amu watched them giggle to themselves before leaving the shop and deciding she needed to make some friends so she could go shopping with them.

She walked down the boardwalk and stopped at the smell of food. Seeing a crowd of people gathering around the food stand, Amu stepped forward to get into line. Ran and Miki floated after her but Suu stopped and looked around.

"What Suu?" Amu asked after noticing her chara. Suu turned to look behind her from the direction they had just come from. Amu followed her gaze and noticed a bunch of people running. They waved their arms at the crowd buying food and started shouting.

"Pirates!" they screamed, "Run! Pirates are attacking!" Amu gripped her bag with her new outfit in it and turned to the other people, confused as the runners raced by. The women in the group struggled to not trip over their long dresses and keep up with the others. The crowd panicked as they saw some of the attacking pirates round a corner nearby and run towards them. Amu realized that the people she had been standing with had turned to run and was left several long paces behind them. Her charas floated after her, looking back to check the distance between Amu and the pirates as she sprinted in her dress. Her school shoes did not make the task any easier.

"Run Amu Run!" Suu chanted worriedly. Miki flew ahead slightly and skidded to a halt in the air. Out of the space between two ships more pirates appeared in front of her. Amu slid to a stop and looked back and forth between the two groups. When she didn't see the blue haired pirate, a strange emotion rose in her chest. She wondered if it was thankfulness because she didn't want to see him again or if it was disappointment because part of her did. _I don't have time to think about this now!_ Amu screamed at herself.

"Ran!" Amu turned to her pink chara. The little girl nodded and tiny wings appeared on Amu's shoes. With a grin Amu turned towards the store in front of her and leaped. She flew through the air and landed on the roof of the building after doing a simple flip. With a wink at the dumbfounded pirates on the ground, she hopped down to the other side of the building and glanced around. The back door to the store she had leaped over opened and two girls from Amu's class waved her in. The chara change dropped and Amu scuttled in. The two girls and the shop owner stared at Amu in amazement for a moment.

"What?" asked Amu, holding her bag to her chest. Sounds from outside made the owner grab Amu away from the door's window and push her into the shadows. The pirates peered inside, but seeing no one, moved on shouting about finding the girl.

"That's so cool!" smiled the one girl.

"You're just like the main character in my favorite manga!" the other added.

"How did you learn to jump like that?" asked the first. The two girls stared at Amu with big eyes, completely amazed. The shop keeper snuck a glance out the window and turned to Amu.

"You've got the pirates after you now," he said with a sigh. The two girls were silent in their adoration. Ran, Miki, and Suu huddled closer to Amu. Amu was sure fear had drained the color from her face, but she took a breath and tried to sound brave.

"So what do I do about that?" she asked nonchalantly. She hopped no one could hear her hammering heart.

"The guardians!" one girl exclaimed.

"Yeah, the guardians can help you!" the other added. Amu began to think the two of them were twins or something.

"Who?" asked Amu before she could stop herself since she just remembered who the guardians were.

"They protect the town from the pirates," the first girl explained, "they should know how to help you so the pirates can't hurt you."

"You're so cool to be wanted by the pirates," the second girl swooned. Amu raised her eyebrow in question. _We should trade places then; I'll stay hidden in the safe store and you can get chased around town by evil pirates._

"Where are they?" Amu asked. She remembered her conversation from before about the guardians, back when she did not believe in pirates _really_ attacking the town; she knew better now.

"We'll show you!" the second girl, probably the younger of the two, stated.

"Be careful," the shop keeper warned as he opened the door and watched them hurry away. Amu followed the two girls as they ran to the boardwalk in front of the shops, keeping to the shadows like wannabe ninjas. Amu scoffed out loud at their actions but inside she wanted to be as free as them to do what she wanted without others caring. Her charas clung to her shoulders and scanned the area.

Twice they all ducked behind boxes of fruits or linens to avoid being seen by the attacking pirates carting off boxes. The boardwalk was entirely free of civilians at this point. They were probably all hiding in shops. Amu could hear the bell ringing in the distance. Someone was obviously slacking in their job when it came to ringing the bell; the attack had started a while ago and only now did it begin to warn people.

"Hide!" hissed the older girl a third time. Amu had ducked just in time before a group of pirates rounded the corner, carrying a wooden box. They were running, tipping over themselves in panic. Amu soon saw why.

The blond haired boy, Tadase, who had saved her before, appeared with the other guardians. Between two boxes Amu watched as the guardians, with strangely magical looking objects in hand, stopped the pirates from escaping.

One of the boys headed off the running pirates on a skateboard while a small girl ran at them swinging a humungous baby rattle; she managed to trip over it several times before finally reaching the pirates. Tadase used the scepter that Amu had seen before and the other boy with long hair swung a long scythe. The last girl was standing too far away for Amu to see clearly.

The box was dropped and the pirates were beaten enough to scare them back to their ship. When they were gone, the two girls popped up from behind the box they were hiding behind and pulled Amu up with them. Tadase's gaze flew to Amu.

"That was awesome!" exclaimed the one girl as she leaped over the boxes that had just shielded her, an amazing feat in her long school uniform, and ran over to them.

"You saved us!" added the other. The two of them gawked at the guardians before Amu walked over to them as well. There were five guardians, the two boys aside from Tadase were fielding the girls' questions as the girls tried to open the crate that the pirates were trying to steal.

"Oh!" one of the girls from Amu's class remembered. She pointed to Amu, "the pirates were chasing her, they wanted to find her."

"It really isn't that big of a deal," Amu denied quickly.

"Yes it was! They were chasing her and she escaped by jumping over a building!" elaborated the second. That caught the guardian's attention, all except for the blond girl who continued to try and open the box.

"Let's get things figured out back at the ship," one of the guys said. Tadase nodded, his gaze stilled fixed on Amu. The lock at her neck glittered in the sunlight. A crack broke the silence. The box had been pried open.

"Got it," grinned the boy with long hair. The blond girl frowned at him but Amu was too busy trying to look inside to notice.

"Tea?" the girls who had brought Amu along stated in unison. _Yep, definitely twins_, thought Amu. Tadase reached between the sacks of tea and searched for a moment.

"Kukai," he stated, "can you take this back?" The boy nodded and threw his skateboard on the ground that Amu had seen him riding to fight the pirates with. He set the box on it and pushed it down the boardwalk.

"I'll meet you back at the ship then," he called, jogging after the rolling box. The others nodded.

"It was nice meeting you two," the long haired boy smiled as he inclined his head slightly towards the two girls. They giggled and hurried away, leaving Amu by herself.

"I'll go too," she began to say until the girl with orange pigtails latched onto her arm and pulled.

"Come on, we're going back to the ship," she grinned, "we'll have lots of fun! Negihiko just made cake!" The long haired boy blushed slightly. The scythe in his hands vanished in a bright flash as he turned and walked with the other girl. Tadase walked on Amu's other side as the pink haired girl was dragged along.

When they reached the ship that the guardians had mentioned, Amu was speechless. Unlike the other ships at the docks, this one was radiant. It was well made and all the wood glowed like it had just been polished. Amu felt the younger girl let go of her arm as she hurried onto the ship with her arms outstretched like a bird. The others followed. Amu wandered on last. She noted the ship's name, _The Guardian_, and wondered who was named first, the ship or this group of kids.

Ran, Miki, and Suu grew brave enough to finally peer out of her bag where they had hidden themselves since the fight and floated around.

"Wow!" Ran smiled, flying around the masts where the sails were tied up. Miki was more amazed by the steering wheel, hovering around it to see it from different angles. Suu closed her eyes and took a few sniffs of the air.

"Cake!" she exclaimed. The green chara grabbed the strap to Amu's bag and pulled her towards the cabin on the deck. Amu only just managed to keep her footing and grab a tighter hold on her shopping bag. Miki and Ran flew after them. Inside, the guardians were seated at a table as the one boy was passing out slices of cake. Amu felt her stomach growl.

"Sit next to Yaya!" the girl who had practically dragged Amu to the ship called. Amu made her way to the empty chair and a piece of cake was placed in front of her.

"This looks really good," Amu admitted. The door opened the boy who had returned the tea strode in and took his seat next to Tadase. Amu looked around the table and finally noticed what the center of the table contained. Six charas sat contently eating their own portions of the chocolate cake. Amu stared at them for a moment in disbelief. Her own charas grinned excitedly and flew down to meet them.

"I believe introductions are in order," Tadase stated rather formally, "my name is Tadase, and this is my shugo chara Kiseki." The blond waved to the small chara dressed as a king. The boy next to him spoke next.

"I'm Nagihiko," the long haired boy stated, "and these are my shugo charas Rhythm and Temari." Amu glanced to the boy and girl charas who sat next to each other eating their cake. They were almost complete opposites in their dress.

"Rima," the blond girl stated softly, she didn't even point to her chara as she started her name, "and Kusu-Kusu." The little clown chara giggled in response, so Amu didn't need to guess.

"I'm Kukai," the boy who came in last stated with a wide smile, "and my shugo chara is Daichi." The chara dressed like a little sport's star gave Amu a thumbs up.

"And I'm Yaya!" the redhead exclaimed with a mouthful of cake, "my shugo chara is Pepe." The room was silent for a second as the guardians waited for Amu to follow the trend.

"My name is Amu," she finally stuttered, "and this is Ran, Miki, and Suu." Each girl waved as their name was spoken.

"Three shugo charas," Kukai said in amazement, "awesome." Amu looked up and decided to brave what she thought they would all think was a dumb question.

"What _is_ a shugo chara?" she asked them.

"A shugo chara is who you want to be," Yaya smiled.

"Does everyone have one?" asked Amu.

"Not everyone's heart's eggs hatch into shugo chara's," Nagihiko explained, seeing Amu's confusion, he added, "everyone has a heart's egg, they hold the dreams of what you want to become. Usually the heart's egg stays hidden inside a child's heart. But sometimes they come out and hatch into shugo charas."

"Oh," Amu sighed. She still really didn't know what to think of everything regarding her charas.

"You must be really strong though, having three of them!" Yaya exclaimed before asking for another slice of cake. Nagihiko passed her one.

"She found the Humpty Lock as well," Tadase explained to the others.

"Really?" asked Nagihiko. The other guardians all looked to the lock around Amu's neck. It glittered in the light that came through the windows. Amu started to become self conscious.

"The Humpty Lock," she muttered, holding it in her hand to look at it once more, "what does it do?"

"The wearer of the lock is able to use the lock's powers," Tadase stated.

"And those would be?" Amu asked. She was still confused about the lock. What were these powers they it was supposed to have?

"We really don't have any clue," Kukai laughed, "most of the records from the previous guardians were lost, so you'll just have to tell us, new guardian!"

"What?" Amu nearly shouted, waving her arms in denial, "I'm not- I can't- New Guardian?!"

"But you have shugo charas!" Yaya pouted.

"But-!" Amu tried to say.

"Why not?" Tadase asked sadly. Amu stuttered, trying to think of what to say.

"What about school?" she finally asked. She cringed; in all actuality she would have loved to get out of school and not need to wear her uniform ever again. The clothing that the guardians' wore looked far more comfortable. The shorter dresses and the pants underneath them seemed to be far easier to move around in.

"We go to class when we don't have to deal with the pirates," Rima explained calmly, "all the teachers know we have these responsibilities and they work around them." She sipped the last of her tea and set the cup down, looking up at Amu. Amu _really _wondered how the guardians got away with skipping classes; _they must have someone who covers for them working in the school._

"So?" asked Kukai. Everyone turned to Amu, even her charas had pleading looks in their little eyes.

"I guess I could give it a try," Amu shrugged.

"Yay!" echoed everyone's voices around the table, even the charas were happy. The little clown chara was doing cartwheels across the table in celebration.

A few hours later everything had been finalized. Amu sat on her bed in the small cabin room that was now hers. The bunk opposite her own was empty, so Amu had set out the clothing that she had packed on it. Her unhatched diamond egg sat happily in its little wicker basket on the night stand, just like it had at home. It was nestled with Ran, Miki, and Suu's eggs as well. The guardians had insisted that she clear everything with her parents before she joined them, since they were sometimes gone for weeks at a time.

Amu had explained things to her parents; her mother calmly agreed while her father had broken down in hysterics. Her younger sister informed her to 'go beat up the nasty pirates' as Amu left with some of her clothing. Amu was surprised at how mature the guardians had acted, even Yaya, when they explained what they did to her parents and that they felt Amu was qualified to join them. She felt a warmth in her chest, similar to the feeling she had felt from the lock, and realized she just might have made some new friends.

"Amu!" Yaya called, opening the door to Amu's room on the boat, "Let's color!" All thoughts that Amu had of this girl possessing any maturity flew right out the window. Amu was pulled from the room without giving an answer. On the deck, Yaya had gathered a stack of paper and some paints. It was dark; evening had long since swallowed up the world, so their only light was from several candles around Yaya's art supplies and a few lit lanterns from around the ship. Kukai and Nagihiko were on deck as well, but they were fixing the sails and tending to the ship to make sure it would be stable during the night. Tadase was nowhere to be seen.

Amu sat down with Yaya and was handed a paint brush. The redhead immediately began painting with a childlike enthusiasm. Amu just stared at her paper. Her charas finger painted with Pepe nearby, creating cute little pictures of their own. Miki glanced over at Amu; Ran elbowed the blue chara. She grinned as well and Amu suddenly pressed her paintbrush to her paper and began furiously painting. It wasn't until Yaya exclaimed that Amu was an awesome drawer that she realized what had happened.

On the page was a watercolor sunset over the ocean. The ocean reflected the sunlight perfectly, and there were even little shells on the beach that were bright orange from the fading light. Amu turned to Miki as the change faded and stared open mouthed.

"Lookie what Amu can do!" Yaya called out, waving the wet paper in the air. The two boys wandered over to see. Rima appeared as well. They all gazed at the painting for a little while until Kukai sat down and announced he was going to draw as well, and his picture was going to be the best. Nagihiko pulled Rima down with him and passed her a page of paper and a brush. Amu watched as everyone laughed together and tried to paint.

After several failed attempts, Kukai showed them a lopsided soccer ball flying into a goal. Rima refused to show anyone her painting, but Amu thought she saw three people standing together before she had hidden it away. Yaya had attempted to draw all the guardians, who all turned into stick figures with hair and square clothing holding hands, while Nagihiko had simply doodled a bunch of swirly designs in black paint. Amu finally attempted to draw on her own and settled for her charas. The painting wasn't that good, but Amu laughed along with everyone else as they shared their creations.

"Where's Tada-" Yaya was about to ask before the blond appeared. He climbed down the rope ladder that led to the top of the mast in a hurry and spotted everyone.

"Set sail," he shouted, "the pirates are moving!" Everyone jumped up and hurried to ready the ship to sail. Amu hesitated.

"Um…" she muttered. Tadase saw her and waved her over to the side of the ship. Together they untied all the moorings that keep the ship attached to the dock and moved the plank that they boarded with. Amu had been too busy untying knots to remember to blush. The others unfurled a few of the sails in that time and Nagihiko had taken the wheel. The ship slowly slid from the dock with the waves and headed out to sea.

"Where are we going?" asked Amu as Tadase moved to take the wheel. The others gathered around them, waiting for orders.

"Easter's ship left the harbor," Tadase explained, "we need to follow them."

"Easter?" asked Amu as she moved to sit on the railing.

"They're a group of pirates," Kukai explained, "and they're the worst kind."

"What about this town? Don't you need to watch over it? What does Easter do that makes it so bad?" Amu questioned.

"The town guard can handle normal pirates," Rima answered.

"But Easter pirates aren't normal pirates, Easter is only looking for one thing," Nagihiko added.

"And what's that?" asked Amu.

"The embryo," Tadase stated.

* * *

There you go :) ... yes it's a very short chapter... and there was no ikuto (yet), but it seemed like a good place to stop for the chapter since a bunch of stuff happens next... yeah!

I love Reviews


	3. Chapter 3

I'm sorry i took so long to update... I kept telling myself that people wanted me to update, but every time i sat down to write, i started writing something else. I finally did finish this chapter. You get to meet Easter! and more Ikuto and everyone else!

here it is.

* * *

Chapter 3

_The Guardian_ sailed through the night chasing after Easter's ship. Amu had only caught a glimpse of the pirate ship after their conversation through the spyglass Tadase let her borrow. It had escaped her view within the next hour. Rima told her that Easter's ship was especially quick in the water, and it had escaped their grasp quite a few times in the past year.

Since the wind held its course and the weather seemed to cooperate, the guardians slipped away into their quarters to sleep. Tadase stayed on deck at the wheel to guide the ship. Amu followed the others' lead and went to sleep.

Her first night on a ship turned out to be less exciting then she would have imagined. Amu could feel the pulsing waves rocking the hull, but it was not enough to disturb her. Ran, Miki, and Suu seemed content to doze off as well after wishing her a good night.

---o---

The next morning Amu woke to the smell of baking. Sunlight seeped into the room from under her door. She wondered how late it was. Changing into the clothing she had brought from home, she folded her uniform which she had fallen asleep in and laid it on the bed. Suu peeked out of her egg and bid Amu a good morning.

Amu poked Ran and Miki's eggs and decided to let them sleep after she was met with resistance. Suu cheerily floated out of the room and towards the sweet smells. Amu followed after her. They walked past the deck and Amu took the chance to see where they were. Water surrounded them on all sides, and the pirate ship was nowhere to be seen.

The two soon found themselves in the kitchen and discovered it was still early. Amu peered around the doorframe and spotted Nagihiko with several bowls and a tray of what smelled like cinnamon rolls. Temari and Rhythm sat nearby on the table. Suu dramatically flew into the room, and Nagihiko turned to see Amu.

"Good morning," he smiled. Amu walked into the kitchen and sniffed the air.

"Amu, don't they smell good?" Suu grinned as she looked over at Amu who approached and stood a little ways away from Nagihiko but close enough to peer over the tray.

"Did you make these?" Amu asked. She glanced over to bowl in the boy's hand. He nodded.

"We're just about to make the glaze," Temari added.

"_You two_ haven't done anything but eat," Nagihiko gently chastised, "I'll make the glaze in a second, Kukai loves these, so I'll need to make another batch first." He grinned at his charas and went back to adding ingredients to the bowl. Amu noticed he was not even reading from a recipe. The confidence on the long haired boy's face told her he knew what he was doing. _I wish I was good at cooking_, Amu thought to herself. Suu floated over to her and tapped her on the head with a tiny whisk. Amu wondered where her chara had gotten it from.

Suddenly, Amu felt compelled to help with the cooking. She tossed some ingredients into an empty bowl that was nearby and stirred them together. A grin blossomed on her face as the mixture slowly became the glaze that would top the cinnamon rolls. Nagihiko looked up from his work with the dough, almost unsurprised that Amu had become so good at cooking in a matter of seconds.

Amu frosted the finished cinnamon rolls perfectly and Suu giggled once more. The three charas happily ate the extra icing from the bowl; Amu stared at the completed tray and then at Suu, her mouth slightly open.

"You're good at cooking?" Amu questioned, looking to Suu. The green chara curtsied and went back to eating the leftover glaze. Amu took the spoon and slowly licked it clean.

"So Ran is good at sports, Miki is awesome with art, and you're a great cook," Amu summarized, hoping she had gotten it right.

"Yep," Ran's voice stated. Amu's pink and blue charas flew into the room and landed by the baked breakfast. Nagihiko put the dough into the small wooden oven and closed the door, turning back to Amu. Amu wondered what else this ship was equipped with if it had its own oven and a place to store food that needed to be kept cold.

"Everyone should be getting up by now," he said.

"Who's steering the ship then?" Amu asked slightly panicked.

"I think Kukai is," Nagihiko paused, "can you go tell him breakfast is almost ready?"

"Sure," Amu replied. She walked out of the kitchen and onto the deck. In the time she had been cooking, a sliver of land had materialized straight ahead of the ship. Amu stopped to gaze at it, wondering if that was where they were going. She wondered how the guardians knew where the pirates where headed if they had lost sight of them last night.

She turned away from the ship's side and walked up to the wheel. Kukai was there, adjusting the wheel every now and then when a gust of wind buffeted the ship slightly. He smiled at her when she approached. Daichi grinned as well. He was running back and forth on the banister, kicking a little soccer ball. Amu wondered where any of the charas got such tiny items, but then she remembered she was supposed to tell Kukai about breakfast. He beat her to it, jumping down the six steps that led to the wheel in a single bound.

"Time to eat?" he laughed. Amu nodded and the two of them walked to the room where they had eaten cake yesterday. Yaya and Tadase were already there. Yaya looked like she was still asleep. Nagihiko entered the room with Rima, each of them carrying a plate stacked high with the bakery.

"Cinnamon rolls!" Kukai grinned madly and snatched two from one of the plates before it even touched the table. Everyone sat down and breakfast began.

---o---

They didn't reach the land that Amu had seen before until almost nightfall that evening. The moment _The Guardian_ pulled in the harbor, the others already were moving to tether her to the moorings. Amu was lost in the frantic way the guardians finished the task. She kept out of their way and watched. Her charas floated around her. When the ship was secure, Tadase called them together.

"Find Easter's ship," he stated, "they may already be causing trouble in town, if you see anything, signal the location." Everyone nodded and paired off. Rima and Nagihiko hurried down the dock to the left while Kukai and Yaya headed to the town. Amu was left with Tadase. He turned to her.

"Ready?" he asked with a smile. Amu blushed without knowing why and nodded. They hurried off the ship and to the right. Tadase searched the ships while explaining to Amu what they were looking for.

"Their ship is smaller than _The Guardian_ with more sails, you saw it yesterday as it sailed away," he explained, moving past several merchant ships in their search. Amu wondered why a pirate ship would dock in plain sight anyway.

"The pirates might already be in the town," Tadase said more to himself then Amu, "while the Easter Company appears to anyone as a normal merchant business selling luxury items from exotic places, that's just their cover."

"What does Easter really do then?" questioned Amy. They searched several more ships and they were running out of harbor to check. The pirate ship was nowhere to be found.

"They've been collecting heart's eggs in their search for the embryo," Tadase replied, his tone harsher after each statement, "we can't let Easter continue to do it." They reached the end of the dock. The pirate ship was not there. Tadase frowned and turned around.

"Hurry," he called, grabbing Amu's hand and pulling her after him as he ran down the dock in the direction they had come. The boy who before had been sweet had frozen over. Amu could tell he was angry, even though his grip on her hand was gentle. She sensed that Tadase truly hated Easter. The two of them met up with Rima and Nagihiko near their own ship.

"Did you find it?" asked Tadaase. Amu was breathing slightly heavier then she thought she should have been. They had only run for a short distance.

"At the end of the dock," Rima answered.

"We couldn't get close," Nagihiko added when Tadase took a step in that direction, "two guards watched the plank onto the ship. But other then that it looked empty onboard. They must be in town already searching." Miki poked Amu, pulling her attention away from the conversation.

"Amu, listen," the blue chara stated. Amu took a step back and did just that. Carried on the wind she could hear a song, but she did not catch the words. A sinking feeling filled her and she looked around. The others had stopped talking and looked towards the direction the sound had come from.

"They're there," Rima stated.

"Everyone, let's go!" Tadase shouted.

"Kukai and Yaya will probably be there already," Nagihiko added. The four of them ran towards the sound. Even though they all raced as fast as they could, Amu felt in wasn't enough. She glanced up to find her charas.

"Ran!" she shouted. The pink chara knew what to do and suddenly Amu leaped away from the group in a bound mighty enough to clear buildings. She heard the others telling her to wait, but she could not. She knew something was going to go wrong and she need to understand what was going on.

She arrived at a bubbling fountain and was surrounded by activity. The song had stopped and around Amu black eggs with white x's on them floated above fallen children. Amu saw that the kids' eyes were blank, their faces without expression. She was horrified.

Then, she noticed that pirates were quickly snatching the eggs from the air and filling large crates with them. Amu recognized that the crates were similar to the one that the guardians had confiscated from the other pirates the first time she had seen them in action. _So that's what they expected to find inside,_ she realized.

Two pirates hustled to hurry away with a full crate. Amu spotted a girl with long blond hair assisting them with the collection and giving orders. She looked the part of a pirate, but the black devil wings sprouting from her shoulder blades was out of the ordinary. Amu stood still as the change dropped, unnoticed until an x-egg floated her way. She reached for it and the egg hesitated before flying at her full force in an attack and screaming something about _uselessness_. Amu ducked and screamed as well. The blond noticed her then, looking to her charas that swerved out of the egg's path.

"Hurry," the girl ordered, "the guardians are here!" The girl lifted her hand, palm open, towards Amu and took a step in her direction. Before she could do anything, a soccer ball came flying inches from her head, forcing her to duck.

"Amu!" called Yaya, running to her side. The blond turned to Kukai with fire in her eyes; he challenged her stare with a cocky grin. Tadase and the others suddenly appeared as well. The girl saw them all gathered and shouted another set of orders at the working pirates.

"Grab the last of the eggs and go!" she called, the anger in her voice easily detected, "Faster!" Se snatched an egg from the air and threw it at the nearest pirate. He stuffed it in a box and made to carry it away.

"Don't let them get away!" Tadase commanded. Each of the guardians changed with their charas and attacked, trying to recover the three visible crates of x-eggs. Amu stood for a moment unsure of how to act.

The lock glittered at her neck and she grabbed it in her palm. Suddenly the world was white. She felt her body floating and a new power fill her. She heard Ran's voice inside her head, inside her heart. When her feet touched the ground again, Amu was a completely different person, confident and ready to rescue the poor children who had had their heart's eggs stolen from them.

"Stop!" she shouted, moving towards the blond and the pirates. The guardians stood in shock and stared at her transformation. _The bright pink outfit doesn't help matters much_, Amu heard herself think, but she was not thinking about that at the moment, she only carried for the eggs.

"You can't just take these kids' heart's eggs. Amu stated, "those are their dreams!"

"Their dreams are childish and insignificant," the girl shot back, her tone thunderous. Amu saw another woman pirate appear and hurry to the blond's side.

"Utau," she said, grasping the girl's arm, "enough." Amu watched as the woman said a few more things that she could not hear and saw the girl's wings vanish and turn with older pirate to leave. The rest of the pirates hurried to follow after the two women, bringing the crates with them.

Kukai's skateboard took out two men carrying a box full of eggs and a blazing blue basketball sent another box flying. The third was ripped from its carriers' grip by a rope controlled by Rima. The pirates ran for their lives, leaving the fallen crates and vanishing from the area.

Amu saw the piled x-eggs spill from the smashed crates and felt her heart well with pain for their masters who had been tricked. She was unaware of why she did it, but she lifted her hands in the shape of a heart to the glittering lock at her chest. A beam of pure light and power filled the area and washed over the x-eggs. The guardians watched each egg fade from black to white again, recovering their original winged design and floating back to their fallen children. Amu had opened her heart to the pain that these eggs and their children had experienced, and thus cleansed them of any negativity.

A boy with green hair and glasses watched from behind a tree. Seeing the show was over he slipped away, back to the pirate ship to report what he had seen.

Amu landed on the grass and felt herself return to normal. No longer did she know what was going on. She did not have time to think about what happened as the children woke with no memory of being knocked out. The guardians learned the kids had all gathered to listen to a pretty girl sing at the fountain and felt sleepy. That was all any of them could remember.

Amu felt bad allowing the children whose faces were still hollow to return home. The other guardians explained that they would recover the eggs soon to return them, but until then, everyone would think the child was simply feeling down. The children dispersed and the guardians returned to the dock, intent on finding Easter's ship. It was gone. They returned to their own ship and Amu was immediately bombarded with questions now that the danger had passed.

"How did you do that!?" Yaya demanded.

"Do what?" Amu asked.

"Transform!" Yaya exclaimed.

"None of us can transform," Nagihiko added.

"Only Chara Change," Kukai stated, "and use our chara's special items."

"I don't know how I did it," Amu stuttered, "the lock…"

"The Humpty Lock does have special powers," Rima offered, "Tadase said so when we first met you."

"And to purify x-eggs as well," Nagihiko said, "wow." Kukai looped his arm around Amu's shoulders. "This is great!" he grinned. Amu was too confused to argue. She let them pour over the mystery for a while longer until they went to bed. They were unsure of where Easter had gone off to, so they would spend the night here and return home in the morning.

Amu stayed on the deck for a while longer, thinking. The blond girl with the devil wings reminded her somehow of the blue haired pirate with cat ears. They looked nothing alike, but Amu still though about him. She held the lock up to the moonlight. Her charas stared out at the ocean in silence with her. Amu knew the morning would bring more questions and fewer answers, so she stayed up a little longer.

---o---

Utau followed Yukari Sanjo onto the ship. The woman was, in essence, her keeper; she was always in sight. Two boxes of x-eggs had been recovered and were being tied down by lesser pirates who Utau did not know and did not care to know. The pirates all scrambled into an ordered mess as the director of their fake company walked onto the ship; he was their captain. Utau shot him a glare of ice that melted when she saw who walked lazily behind him.

"Ikuto!" she swooned, hurrying to grab him. The blue haired pirate sidestepped her attack and she pouted. In the end, he let her cling to his right arm. Yoru watched from Ikuto's left shoulder. Utau's two charas floated behind her. The siblings heard Yukari scoff at the display and the captain called for order. The other pirates followed his command, as did Utau's supervisor. Utau straightened, but her grip on her brother did not lesson. Ikuto ignored the man, turning to look at the moon over the ocean instead.

"Two crates of x-eggs," he frowned, "there were enough children gathered for three times as many!" He kicked one of the crates and it erupted in tiny voices squealing and calling out 'useless'. He turned to Utau.

"Where are all the others?" he demanded.

"We were interrupted," Yukari stated, defending Utau, since it was not the girl's fault.

"The guardians showed up," a random pirate shouted.

"Sanjo wouldn't let me stay," Utau pouted, saying it softly enough for only Ikuto to hear. While he didn't like the woman, or anyone else on this ship for that matter, he appreciated her judgment to bring Utau back when she did. His sister would probably go overboard and hurt herself, _if the boy king doesn't do it first_, Ikuto reminded himself. He had to grin at the memory of Tadase's expression when the boy had found him trying to steal the lock. Ikuto knew that Tadase hated him and his sister as much as he hated his own captain. He thought to the lock again. Easter didn't know about his side trip to try and claim it yet, he hoped it stayed that way. He did not want to deal with meddling pirates in addition to the guardians.

"The guardians," hissed the director. He slammed his fist against the railing on the ship. Ikuto silently hoped that it hurt, _a lot_. This was the one man on the ship he truly hated. Nothing would ever change his mind. Running footsteps made everyone turn to look at the new arrival.

"What did you find?" the captain snapped. The boy was out of breath but he managed to push his glasses back into place on the bridge of his nose and handed his clipboard to Yukari.

"Remaining eggs purified, returned to the children. New girl with the guardians. Pink hair, name is probably Amu. Transformed, not just changed, with a jeweled necklace and then used it to purify the eggs. Strong," she read. The director was not pleased. He snatched up the report and scanned it himself.

Ikuto knew what girl the boy, Kairi, had seen. He also realized that Kairi had mentioned the lock, though he didn't know what it was. Utau felt Ikuto shift as he inconspicuously reached for the jeweled key linked to his blue belt of tied fabric. Utau knew he had it, but Ikuto didn't know if the others onboard knew.

Utau looked up to her brother's face and squeezed his arm tighter in reassurance for whatever she thought he was worried about. The director was speaking again and Ikuto's blue eyes were colder then ice. She returned her attention to their caption mid-sentence.

"…at the next port. No excuses. I want results. We need to locate the embryo before the guardians."

"Yes captain!" the crew shouted in unison. Utau looked down and nodded. She didn't want Ikuto to get into trouble with the captain more then he already was. She didn't know her brother's goals, but all she did, she did for him.

The crew dispersed and began to free the ship form the dock. Ikuto and Utau stood without moving. Sails billowed freely around them, wooden boards scraped against the dock, ropes snapped free from tired hands as sailors hastily moved to free the ship.

Ikuto grew impatient with their fumbling and they tied ropes to their anchor points in the wrong sections, freed himself from his sister's grip, and leaped up the mast. Deftly he released the remaining sails and tied off several lines in the correct locations without letting the sails open completely. _These sailors really have no clue what they're doing_, Ikuto frowned. He knew they were trying to follow orders, but the harbor had a tight curve to navigate to get into open water, and with all the sails completely filled with wind, they would have far too much speed to take the turn without crashing the ship.

Below him, he saw the anchors being lifted from the water and thrown onto the deck. They were dragged across the wood to where they were left out of the way. Grooves were already being slowly carved into the once perfect wood by the heavy weights. Ikuto loved this ship; those pirates did not care that they ruining it. The captain seemed to have no care for it either. It was just another ship to him.

He finished with the sails, leaping with catlike grace between the masts and stepped down to the deck twenty feet below. Utau was at his side once more like a magnet had drawn them together.

The ship was moving away from the dock now and the harbor was soon far behind them. The town vanished as well. Kairi approached the two of them and spoke to Utau with a detached air.

"You should be thinking of ways to collect more x-eggs," he said. Even behind the glasses, Ikuto could see that the green haired boy was only relaying the message from Yukari. The woman was the boy's sister and when she was angry with Utau she would have Kairi send her her tasks. Utau had yet to realize it.

"Maybe you should work harder as well, instead of telling me what do," she snapped. Kairi took this advice and nodded.

"You're right," he agreed and walked off, leaving the siblings and their charas alone on the deck in the moonlight.

"Ikuto," Utau whispered. The building breeze blew her words away from any ears that may otherwise be listening on the ship. "Why weren't you…?"

"The captain had another task for me," Ikuto replied without looking down, cutting his sister's sentence off, "I was with him as he made his business deals."

"Oh," Utau said, her voice small. The wind blew her hair into her eyes and she was forced to loosen her grip to push it back into place.

"Ikuto," she said again. He did not reply, but Utau knew he was listening. He was always listening.

"Will you play your violin?" she requested. Ikuto closed his eyes slowly and pulled out the violin case that he had stashed on deck. Utau released him and watched as he took up his pose and began playing. The song was quiet and smooth; the wind carried the notes to the ocean and back towards the town.

Back in the harbor, just before she left the deck to go to sleep, Amu was certain she could hear an extremely sad melody coming from the open ocean. She brushed tears from her eyes that had taken only moments to gather and glanced once more at the moon, the same moon whose light washed over the two pirate siblings as their ship sailed to sea.

* * *

Good? Bad? In-between? The stage has been set!

In case your wondering why the guardians used their transformed attacks while they were only chara changed was because i needed them to help out but since they can't transform yet i needed something else. So they can use weaker versions of their attacks in their lesser forms... ok? :)

I'm not promising, but there is a high chance that the next chapter will come out quicker then this one did.

Reviews are always appreciated


	4. Chapter 4

Yeah! New chapter! But its kinda shorter....

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**Chapter 4**

"Amu!" Yaya's voice called out happily, "time to get up!" Amu blinked her eyes open and jumped away from the younger girl who hung over her as she lay in bed.

"Yaya!" Amu said angrily, "don't do that!" The girl giggled. Amu got up, changed, and met the rest of the guardians on deck. She was surprised to see the ship back in their home port. Nagihiko saw her confusion and explained.

"Tadase decided to take advantage of the late night winds last night," he said.

"The poor guy couldn't sleep," Kukai laughed, "and he was keeping me awake." Amu nodded and wondered what had been keeping Tadase up. _Could it be that Easter had gotten away and stole some of the x-eggs? _The ship rocked beneath Amu's feet as the wind continued to try and fill the sails.

"Ready?" Rima asked, breaking the silence and Amu's train of thought.

"For what?" Amu asked. Rima raised her school bag without a word.

"School?" Amu questioned, "but-"

"We didn't know where Easter disappeared to, " Nagihiko explained, "so we might be here for a while."

"It's ok," Kukai stated, "we'll be gone soon and no more school."

"The teachers understand the situation," Tadase stated.

"Well," Yaya winked, "at least the pirate hunting part." Tadase handed Amu her bag and the guardians made their way off the ship. Their charas floated after them.

Amu returned to her old class and discovered her teacher was up-to-date on the fact that she had become a guardian. The girls who sat around her kept sneaking glances at her and trying to engage her in conversation about what is was like at the breaks between the lessons.

Secretly, Amu was happy to be so popular for once. It was hard to hold back her smiles, but she maintained her cool demeanor, smiles were not in the character she had made for herself at school. At the class's end Amu found herself surrounded by most of the kids in class. The girls demanded to know the strangest things. Amu struggled to answer them.

"What's Kukai's favorite food?"

"Um-"

"What's Tadase like??"

"He's-"

"What shampoo does Nagihiko use?"

"What?"

"How many pirates did you catch?" shouted a boy from behind the girls.

"We-"

"Does Rima like flowers? What kind?"

"How should I know?"

"Do you like any of the guardians?" At that point Amu was saved by the door opening and Nagihiko appearing. He smiled at the girls and told Amu she was needed. The two of them left.

"Thanks," Amu sighed in relief, "the girls were asking me crazy questions about you guys." He laughed.

"Everyone wants to know everything about us," he said, "Since we're never here and we have our 'special' jobs, everyone gets curious." Amu's charas floated above them beside Temari and Rhythm.

They walked to the glass building that Amu had hidden inside during the pirate attack and made their way to a table set with tea. Ran, Miki, and Suu joined the other charas on the table where the remaining guardians waited. Amu and Nagihiko took their seats in the open spots.

They discussed future plans and glossed over strategies to employ to catch the pirates. Amu learned that Tadase was interested in finding the embryo as well. He wanted to get it first, before Easter could use it for evil. Kiseki informed her that with it, Tadase would rule the world; the little chara then proceeded to laugh evilly.

It was after the guardians had explained to Amu that this was where they met off the boat and gone over the new attack plans for encountering Easter that three girls stumbled into the atrium nervously.

"Guardians?" One girl asked, her eyes on her hands as she pulled at her fingers.

"Yes?" asked Tadase, "how may we be of assistance?" He had moved to the girls' sides and gave them a warm smile.

"We were wondering," another girl added.

"If you weren't busy," asked the last girl.

"If you would like to go to the beach?" Finished the first girl, "most of the school is going there today, since it's so nice out." Amu noticed the girls carried a basket and bags that were most likely filled with their swimsuits. The guardians looked to each other.

"Yes!" Yaya answered loudly jumping up from her seat, "we'd love to go!"

"We're pretty much done anyway," Kukai agreed.

"Yay!" one of the girls squealed, "we'll see you there then." The girls vanished and the guardians packed up their things to head to the beach. On the way, Amu stopped to grab her swim suit from home, filling her parents in on the general story of what had happened while she had been gone and that she was enjoying herself.

She met the others at the beach and saw that the entire school, and most of the town, had gathered on the beach. She could smell food cooking and heard children laughing as she threw her stuff with the others' things under Rima's huge umbrella .

"Come on Amu! Let's go in the water!" Yaya exclaimed. The rest of the day followed in the same manner. The water was chilly, but Amu and Yaya played in the surf for a lone time. They were joined by Kukai and Tadase and water flew as they splashed and played. The guardians built sandcastles with some of the other students and were invited to play a game of volleyball.

The charas did their own thing, building mini sculptures out of sand, which Miki schooled them all in, and simply playing around. Ran and Daichi kicked his soccer ball into the waves and spent a good deal of time trying to retrieve it without getting wet.

Amu dove for a particularly strong spike and ended up face first in the sand. She stood up laughing and realized she had not had this much fun since she moved here.

They ate with a bunch of girls from Amu's class, the same one who had pestered her with questions, and watched the sun begin to set. The wind blew in off the ocean, bringing the scent of salt to their noses. Most people had started to leave, and soon the guardians packed up as well. They were one of the last groups to leave the beach. They walked back to the ship, surrounded by laughter; today had been fun.

Tadase slowed to a walk beside Amu, his hand brushed against hers as they moved and she blushed. She turned to look at him to see if he had noticed and saw his face had flushed as well. Her heart was fluttering and she was about to say something when she noticed something was wrong.

"Wait," Amu stated. She stopped and realized she had forgotten her skirt. The ship was in sight now. Tadase stopped as well.

"I f-forgot my skirt," Amu stuttered, "I'm going to go back to get it." She turned and moved towards the beach. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Amu," Tadase called, "I'll go with you." His touch was warm and Amu blushed redder. She could felt the heat on her face as he kept his hand placed on her skin.

"No," she shook her head, "it'll be faster if I just go." With that said, Amu slipped out of his grip and ran back down the beach, her charas floating behind her.

When she got to the spot they had set up at before, Amu was relieved to find her skirt, folded and waiting, on the sand where she had left it. She gathered it up in her hands, glanced at the moon overhead as the sky got dark, and started to return to _The Guardian_. The wind caressed her face and she paused. She could hear something on the breeze. It was coming from the opposite direction. The sun had nearly vanished. The moon was full, so the beach was clearly illuminated; no one was there.

"Amu?" asked Suu.

"Do you hear that?" asked Amu.

"It sounds like the music we heard before," Miki noticed.

"It's pretty," Ran smiled with her eyes closed as she spun in the air. Amu turned and moved from the ship to go and find the source of the music. She did not know what compelled her to do so, but she continued walking until the beach ended around a bend in the shore. The music was louder with each step she took.

She rounded another curve and poked her head around a pile of rocks that jutted out from the trees that grew on the sandy beach and extended all the way up to the town. She spotted a hidden cove, sheltered from the open sea by a natural reef several hundred yards out. Moored in the bay was a dark ship. Amu's breath caught in her throat. It was Easter's ship.

But the music was still playing and the ship looked deserted. Coming closer, Amu saw the ship was attached to a rickety dock that bobbed with the gentle waves. She took a step onto it and hugged her skirt to her chest. Her charas felt her nervousness and stayed close.

The sounds of the violin were clearly heard now. Whoever was playing was on the deck of the ship, practicing in the moonlight. Amu was driven to know who it was. The lock at her neck glittered in the starlight.

She knew she should go back and tell the others, but her curiosity made her place one foot on the plank that led to the ship. She crept up it and peered over the wooden railing.

Standing alone on the other end of the ship was a single person. Amu's heart stopped as she recognized him when the moonlight shown down upon him. It was the blue haired pirate she had encountered before. But unlike her previous meeting, he seemed serene, at peace with the world and the feeling flowed into the violin he continued to play. His blue eyes were closed, so he did not see her as she stepped onto the deck and approached, all her fears forgotten.

Amu had never heard of the song that the boy played. After a few moments of standing and listening, she noticed that he had a chara sitting on his shoulder. She took a surprised breath when she saw the chara was a cat; it was just enough noise to break the pirate from his trance. He opened his eyes and stopped playing, lowering the violin. He seemed to recognize her. Taking a step forward, he spoke.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned.

"I heard the music," Amu replied, looking away, "I wanted to know who was playing. It was beautiful." She looked up and noticed that the pirate boy had closed the distance between the two of them and now stood only inches away. She felt her face flush and moved backwards a step. He laughed and turned away to put his violin back in its case.

"You're stopping?" Amu asked. She felt disappointment as she watched him stow the violin back into its case and slip it away in its hiding place.

"You shouldn't be here," he said.

"But no one else-" Amu began to say.

"We're enemies," the pirate stated. Amu felt his words like a punch. She had been scared of him, yes, but he seemed like an ok guy. "You're with the guardians, I'm a pirate."

"But we're working for the same goal," Amu said. "Both of us are trying to find the embryo."

"That's just more reason for you to stay away from me, from Easter." The pirate said. He stepped closer to her again and lowered his face until he could look into her eyes. His chara perked up on his shoulder.

"Someone's coming," he hissed into the pirate's ear. Ikuto and Amu, still standing only inches from each other, stood as still as they could and listened. The wood of the dock groaned and Ikuto looked from Amu to the gang plank.

Amu thought she saw a flash of fear in his blue eyes, but she had no time to check as she was scooped up into his arms. She opened her mouth to scream and felt the boy's hand cover it as they darted out of sight into the closest hiding place, a closet for mops and buckets to clean the deck.

"Shh-" he hissed, releasing her mouth only after she gave a stiff nod. Her charas clung to her hair. Luckily the three of them had not gotten separated in the quick action. Amu breath cam ein short gasps as she was pressed between the wall at her back and Ikuto. The closet had plenty of room, but his strong arms were still wrapped around her small frame, limiting her movement. She tried to push away from him, but his grip only tightened. Through the crack between the door frame the two of them saw the person who they had heard before walk into the deck and look around.

"The captain," the cat chara stated. The pirate nodded. Amu looked Easter's captain; a shiver ran through her body before she remembered she was still in the blue haired boy's arms. She blushed again took a few deep breathes. _ I don't think I've ever blushed this much in one day before,_ Amu sighed to herself. She hoped this did not become a habit.

"Ikuto!" the captain yelled, "where did you go! I told you wait here," he lowered his tone to hiss the next words through his clenched teeth, "stupid boy." He shouted the boy's name again and disappeared from view. Amu looked up at the pirate who held onto her.

"Ikuto?" Amu said. The boy looked down at her when she said his name, a smile appearing on his lips. _His name is Ikuto_, Amu realized, _why does knowing that make me feel warm inside?_

"We have to go," Ikuto stated. He nodded at his chara, and in a flash he suddenly had blue ears and a tail. Amu stiffened as he scooped her up into his arms and leapt from their hiding place, down the dock, and onto the beach without letting anyone see. Once they were behind the cover of the trees in the shadows he put her down. He turned away and faced the moonlight.

"Don't do anything else dangerous," Ikuto stated, twitching his tail at her. She figured he meant she should not visit the ship anymore.

"Ikuto," Amu called as he stepped away, ready to return to the ship moored in the bay. He glanced back at her.

"My name is Amu," she stated. _It's only fair_, she decided.

"Amu," he said with a smile. The way he said her name made her shiver all over again. She hugged her arms around her chest, disturbing the lock. The jewels flashed as a moonbeam fell onto them. Ikuto saw it, his gaze resting where the glittering piece of jewelry lay at her neck for a second before subconsciously reaching for the matching piece at his belt. Amu watched his fingers brush against a jeweled key before he vanished with catlike grace no human could possess. Amu's heart beat faster than ever. She squeezed her skirt in her fists and moved to return to _The Guardian_.

It was late when she made it back and Yaya was yawning wider then ever. The guardians had just been ready to go search for her.

They were relieved she had found her skirt in the dark and asked what had held her up. She replied that she had had trouble finding it, since it had been moved. The guardians bought her story and were about to go to sleep when Amu asked them a question. She did not know what had prompted her ask it.

"Does my lock have a key?" she wondered. The guardians were taken by surprise and looked to each other.

"I don't know," Kukai stated, shrugging his shoulders.

"We don't know anything about a matching key," Rima stated.

"There might be one," Yaya yawned.

"Why?" Tadase asked. His eyes were hard, like they had been when he spoke about Easter.

"Just wondering," Amu panicked. She threw her hands up and waved them nervously.

"Ok then," Nagihiko shrugged, "Good night."

"Night," Amu replied with the others. She waited for them all to vanish before she stood on the deck under the moon. Her thoughts drifted to the blue haired pirate on Easter's crew.

"Ikuto," Amu stated to herself, "he has the key to my lock. I wonder what it means." Ran, Miki, and Suu looked up at her from the railing. Even thinking of Ikuto made her cheeks red. She remembered the feeling of his arms around her and wondered why she had trusted him, why she felt so safe with him if he was the enemy. Things could not just be that clear cut. Suu straightened and looked to the town suddenly.

"Amu," she exclaimed, "I feel x-eggs!" Ran and Miki floated up beside her and nodded as well. The door to the cabins was thrown open and Tadase hurried out.

"Amu!" he called, "Kiseki says there are x-eggs in town. Everyone's ready, let's go!" Amu nodded and ran off after the guardians as they hurried into town to confront Easter. _Is Ikuto behind this?_ Amu wondered. Her heart sank as she heard his words repeat in her mind, "we're enemies. You're a guardian. I'm a pirate." _We're enemies._

Amu hopped she was wrong; she hoped _he_ was wrong.

* * *

Yeah! More Ikuto!

I'm trying to get better at writting these flirty interactions between characters. Tell me how I'm doing. :)

Reviews are awesome! Thanks


	5. Chapter 5

Again, sorry for the short chapter...

My schedule is really busy right now, so i don't have any clue when the next chapter will be up...

Enjoy

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Chapter 5

The guardians ran from their ship towards the town. The others were all still in their pajamas. The guys wore loose fitting shirts and pants while Yaya had a cuter version, a tank top and capri pants; Rima had run out in a knee length, lacy night gown. Amu was still in her swimsuit with her long shirt and skirt over it. She hurried after the guardians, trying to ignore her clothing as they did. She wished she had had time to change into the comfy clothing the guardians wore when they were sailing. The sailor type clothing was easy to move around it and kinda cute after she found the right size.

The charas flew ahead, leading the way to where they felt the x-eggs gathering. Amu realized, as they turned a corner, that they were heading towards the school. Approaching it, they heard a familiar melody. The guardians burst through the gates that should have been locked at this late hour and halted. The pirate girl they had seen before stood in front of a crowd of children.

She was singing, her voice carried easily throughout the school yard. The melody was smooth and Amu found herself almost swept up in the tune. The girl noticed them out of the corner of her eye but kept the song going. The guardians were momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Amu noticed that all the children gathered around the girl were dressed for bed and their eyes were blank. Above them hearts eggs floated. Most of them had turned black and hummed slightly; the white x's appearing on their shells. The remaining ones changed soon after.

Then all the children toppled to the ground and the guardians could see the other pirates snatching up the floating eggs. Tadase stepped forward and the pirate stopped singing, her task complete. Amu saw the girl once again had the small black wings extending from her shoulder blades.

"Stop!" Tadase commanded. The pirates paid the boy no heed and kept gathering up the eggs. Amu saw the guardians all character change and charge at the pirates. They hoped to retrieve the eggs and stop the pirates. Kukai, Yaya, and Rima went after the pirates collecting the eggs into sacks while Nagihiko and Tadase sprang at the blonde pirate, scepter and scythe summoned to their hands and ready to attack.

Amu moved to help them but stumbled to a halt when she saw a chara dart out from behind the pirate girl and a flash of light surrounded them where the girl stood. When the light faded, the girl had transformed. She looked down at Tadase and Nagihiko as they slowed their charge, weapons still drawn before them.

"Utau!" shouted the voice that belonged to the pirate woman who had shown up before as well. Utau narrowed her eyes.

"Finish them," the woman ordered, "hurry." Utau waved her hands with a slight smile on the corners of her lips. It was not a smile of happiness, more one of being allowed to do what she wanted.

"Nightmare Loreli," she called. Tadase and Nagihiko were thrown backwards as a barrage of bat shaped energy reached them.

"Amu!" Miki shouted. Amu looked at her blue chara for a moment and realized that she could help. She nooded to her chara; the surge of power she felt was similar to her previous experience. She was surrounded by light as well, and when it faded, she was dressed in blue.

'_Let's go Amu_!" Miki's voice echoed in Amu's had. Amu nodded and ran to stand in front of the two boys as they struggled to get to their feet. Utau, the girl pirate, glared at her and repeated her attack.

Tadase held his sector up to defend himself, but there was no need. In Amu's hands a large paintbrush appeared. She twirled it with expert timing, deflecting Utau's attack. Amu swung the paintbrush at in Utau's direction when the attack ended, the name of her own move forming on her lips.

"Colorful Canvas!" Amu announced. Rainbow paint flew through the air, cancelling Utau's next barrage and threw the pirate backwards. The pirate's blond hair and red outfit were slick with the paint and she wiped it from her eyes. Amu took a step forward and demanded to know.

"What are you doing with all the eggs! Why are you collecting them?!" Utau glared up at Amu but seemed to realize her defeat at least in this one battle. She opened her mouth to speak until she was interrupted.

"Utau!" called the woman pirate, "retreat now!" Amu glanced at the woman and saw her wave a bunch of pirates with wriggling burlap sacks of x-eggs back towards the ship. Utau scrambled to her feet and faced Amu. She looked like she wanted to keep fighting now that she was upright again.

"Utau!" the woman shouted, "let's go. Ikuto will handle the rest." Amu paused at the mention of Ikuto's name. She looked around. The other guardians had all been thrown back from the previous attacks and were just beginning to recover and stand.

There were some x-eggs that floated in the air, buzzing back and forth nervously, but most of them had been stolen. Utau had vanished, but the pirate woman remained, just out of range, halfway behind the front gate.

Movement drew Amu's attention to the eggs again. They were panicked and flew in small circles above the ground at eye level. A figure leaped down from the roof and landed near them. Amu saw that it was Ikuto, though he was transformed as well.

His outfit surprised her, aside from the ears and tail, which she was used to. From his right hand, a metal claw extended, deadly sharp. He slashed it through the air, slicing through two eggs like they were only paper. Amu gasped as she watched the egg shreds dissolve in the air and looked at Ikuto once again. Ikuto met her eyes with a sad look. He glanced to where the woman pirate had been, noticed she had vanished and leapt away. The few remaining eggs hovered in place. They seemed as confused as Amu was at why he had left.

Pushing through her shock for the moment, Amu lifted her hands to the lock at her chest in the shape of a heart. A wave of light washed over the eggs and they returned to their original designs. They lowered themselves into their children.

Amu fell to her knees as she changed back. Tears filled her eyes. The children around her all awoke; some of them wore expressionless looks on their faces. Most of them looked lethargic, and even fewer looked normal. The guardians sent them all on their way home before coming to Amu's side.

"Amu," Yaya mumbled. Amu did not look up. She pounded her fist on the dirt where she knelt, tears dotting the grass.

"Why?" Amu questioned, her voice grew louder, "Why would Easter do this… why would…" The guardians were silent as she dropped her voice again. _Why would Ikuto do that? _She wondered.

"They've always-" Rima began to say.

"Don't they see that they're hurting these kids," Amu cried, interrupting her, "how can they take these hearts eggs? How could he break them?" She asked the second question softer. The guardians looked to each other. Amu felt the hot tears slide down her face and did not care if they were seen.

_Why_? She asked herself again. _Ikuto, why did you do that_? Even though she had only spent a short amount of time with him, she felt betrayed. She did not want to believe him when he said they were enemies, but he seemed to be out to prove it. She did not want to be enemies with him.

"Is the getting the embryo really worth destroying children's dreams?" Amu asked. She looked up, wiping her tears away. The others stood around her. Tadase offered her his hand and helped her up.

"Easter thinks it is," he answered sadly. The guardians left the school grounds and returned to the ship.

Out of the shadows of the school, the young boy pirate, Kairi stepped. He jotted several more notes onto a notepad and paused, thinking about the pink haired girl's tears and wondered if she was right. His chara reminded him that they promised to be back at the ship soon and the boy hurried back.

Amu wondered what would happen to the children whose hearts eggs were stolen as they walked back. She learned they would be depressed for a while, but eventually give up their lost dreams for the future and return to normal, more or less. Some of the children were young enough to successfully hatch new eggs with new dreams that were just as good as the first.

That night as Amu laid in her bed, trying to get to sleep, her thoughts strayed to the blue haired pirate. She wondered why he had given her such a sad look. Amu turned to her charas; they were curled up in their eggs for the night. She wanted to find Ikuto and ask him about it. Something was making him act the way he did, even his music reflected his sadness. Amu decided the next chance she got she would find him and ask him for answers.

The ship lurched to the side, and Amu nearly fell out of her bed and onto the wooden floor. She threw on the first outfit she could find and hurried onto the deck.

"What's going on?" she called. Tadase looked through his spyglass at the front of the ship. Kukai fixed the sails with Rima and Yaya. Nagihiko stood at the wheel.

"Easter's ship is headed out," Kukai explained when Amu threw him a confused glance. Amu looked out to the open water and saw the small black sails of the pirate ship.

"If we hurry," Yaya smiled, "we can catch them and save the eggs."

"And stop them for good," Tadase added. Amu nodded and assisted in opening the sails further to catch every gust of wind. They closed in on the enemy ship with an unprecedented speed. Amu saw Easter's ship was moving at a leisurely pace, almost like it had not seen them approaching. She hoped they caught up soon.

_The Guardian _moved out of the harbor and into open water, quickly gaining on the pirate ship. Suu, Miki, and Ran watched silently above Amu's head as she stood at the railing. The other charas floated nearby to stay out of the way. Kukai and Yaya joined her after all the other sails had been opened and secured so they could catch the wind. It seemed to take forever for them to catch up to the pirate ship. Each moment that passed was another that they could be discovered in.

A strong gust of wind brought them almost within shouting distance of Easter's dark ship. Tadase called the others as he lowered the spy glass and joined them on the main deck.

"Get ready!" he shouted. The guardians, save for Amu, nodded and chara changed. Amu took a step away from the rail and glanced at the ship ahead. They were pulling even with it. She saw the pirates on deck scurrying to open the sails, but they were clumsy and slow.

An explosion surprised Amu and she ducked, just as a cannonball flew in a wide arc over her head, missing the ship entirely. The guardians had pulled up to Easter's ship. Amu thought she saw a flash of blue in the sails as the largest one was released from its ties. It flapped wildly in the growing wind.

The pirates fired more cannonballs; one splintered the railing near Yaya, who screamed loudly even though she was unharmed. The guardians threw over several lines to swing from and secured them in place. Tadase led the charge, searching for the x-eggs. Amu hopped onto Easter's ship after them with Ran's help. She ducked under a sword that a random pirate swung at her and ran to search.

Nagihiko and Kukai held the pirates from boarding _The Guardian_. Kukai skated over the wooden boards with a rope in his hands that he used to catch up some pirates that were not paying attention and knocked them to the ground by pulling their legs out from under them.

Utau appeared from a doorway, transformed fully, and moved to stop him. He skated just out of her attack's reach, smiling the whole time. He enjoyed being just out of reach of her attacks and saw as she became frustrated. He had her full attention as she tried to stop him from knocking other pirates down and over the railings.

Rima and Yaya searched for the eggs, avoiding pirates or slipping away just in time to avoid being caught. The eggs had yet to be found.

Amu felt Suu tap her on the head and felt the familiar feeling of her transformation. When she opened her eyes open more, she was dressed in green.

"Amu! The eggs," Ran called. Amu turned to look and saw the woman pirate with three chests of eggs that had not been on deck before. Tadase was swinging his golden scepter in an effort to get to them, but the pirates had other plans. Amu briefly wondered why she did not see Ikuto anywhere. Around her, the pirate ship's sails billowed, struggling to catch the wind since they were not tied down at deck level.

Suddenly Amu felt sick and turned to the eggs; she saw they pulsed with a dark energy. The woman pirate smiled and watched as the eggs gathered together and rose into the air. They flew towards the guardians like angry wasps. The pirates retreated to let the eggs finish off their enemies. Amu wished she knew what the pirates had done to the eggs. She felt Suu's voice inside her head urging her to save them.

Amu agreed and held out her hand. Magically, a wire whisk with a green blow appeared; Amu faced the eggs. Yaya was trembling in a corner. Rima had a bruise on her check as she fended the eggs off, trying to get to Yaya. Nagihiko was swinging wildly at them; the scythe was soon knocked from his hands and clattered across the floor. Tadase and Kukai leaped from the egg's path only to be thrown to the deck by another group of eggs. Utau seemed to have vanished.

Amu knew that all the eggs Easter had stolen were here. She just needed to help all of them at once. Feeling the powers the Humpty Lock had given to her, Amu lifted the whisk and swung it at the gathered eggs as they faced off against her.

"Remake Honey!" she called. The pirate ship was coated in a thick layer of the golden honey as if sprang into existence from the whisk. The honey coated the eggs as well. Amu watched the honey fade without a trace, leaving Easter's ship spotless where it had rested for the brief moment. The eggs faded to white once more and hummed with contentment before floating back in the direction of the town.

"Let's go!" Kukai shouted. The guardians all swung back to the ship, their mission to save the eggs completed.

"Amu look!" Miki shouted. The guardians all looked up in the direction the little blue chara had pointed and saw a sparkly white egg fly away into the sky.

"What was that?" Yaya questioned as she cut the lines that tied the ships together. As soon as _The Guardian_ was free they turned and headed out to sea to confuse the pirates. For added security, Kukai had knocked two of the anchors on the left side of Easter's ship into the water. The pirates would need to reel them in before they could give chase.

No one had an answer for Yaya's question. _The Guardian_ sped away and soon the pirate ship was nothing more than a dot headed in what seemed like the opposite direction. Amu watched it fade but looked forward to returning to the dock that night. She walked with the others back to her room and curled herself into her bed under her covers, exhausted from the long day.

* * *

I hoped you liked the chapter

...I love Reviews...


	6. Chapter 6

Yeah! New chapter! Once again... kinda short. But things heat up with Amu and Ikuto! I hope you'll agree.

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Chapter 6

Easter's ship strained against the two anchors that held it in place as the waves pushed up against the sides and the sails flapped in the wind. Ikuto swung down from the topmost sail, landing with catlike grace on his feet and strode over to the whipping lines that threatened to knock off the head of anyone who was not paying attention. Yoru glided after him. He heard the grunts of the other pirates as they reeled in the anchors and the grinding of metal on wood as they pulled them over the deck to their resting places. Ikuto did not need to wonder how that boy had managed to knock them both over the railing without help; he had seen the character change. He swiftly tied down several of the ropes that held the sails in place so they could get moving. The ship was steered in the opposite direction that the guardians had gone.

Ikuto heard the captain call for everyone to gather inside the meeting room. He sounded furious, so Ikuto took his time securing the remaining sails. He checked the wheel to make sure it was pointed in the correct direction while no one was watching it and sighed. Yoru grabbed onto his shoulder and hung there, content. Everyone else had vanished into the meeting room beneath the deck.

He let the wind ruffle his blue hair as he thought to Amu and her character transformation. The effects of her purification attack were still visible on the ship. There was a clear line on the deck where the honey had landed and where it had not reached, where the deck was polished and new, and where it remained grungy and worn. Silently, Ikuto wished the whole ship had been restored. He had once known it to be well-cared for and sleek, but now it was just a ragged ship. He stepped down the single stair and entered the meeting room. The captain was shouting, Ikuto ducked behind the others and settled into a corner.

"…lost the battle on our own ship!" he was saying when Ikuto began listening. "They're kids! They made fools of you. They surprised you when this is the fastest ship in the ocean, you could have easily outpaced them. I should make you all walk the plank for your idiocy! Never have I seen a crew so disappointing as to lose all the treasure they have collected, on their own ship no less, to a bunch of kids who lack discipline and were unarmed!"

Ikuto scoffed at the captain's statement. Yoru laughed, almost silently, as he moved to rest on Ikuto's head. The man was an idiot. Where had he been when the crew was fighting? He had been inside his quarters with his gold and other treasures that had been collected when he looted towns whilst Utau and the other pirates gathered hearts eggs.

Ikuto felt his anger build, not because he cared for the other pirates, no, they really were idiots and he disliked them as well, but because the captain was never satisfied. He was using all of them, and only Ikuto could see it. Yet he was the only one who did not have a say in the matter. His sister and him were trapped on this ship until their usefulness wore out. The captain began speaking again.

"But something useful did come out of today," he smiled, "the embryo appeared. I saw it." The pirates began speaking in hushed tones with excitement. They obviously had no idea what the embryo was, but the captain was pleased and he continued. Ikuto gave him half his attention.

"When that pink haired girl purified all those x-eggs at once, I saw it," he spoke, "this shining white egg, floating amongst the others in the sky. It vanished with them when they flew back in the direction of the town, but I know it will appear again."

"How?" asked one brave pirate in the middle of the group.

"That girl used a lock to purify the x-eggs," the captain grinned. Ikuto opened his eyes and stared hard at the captain in disbelief. He had been sure the captain had not been present for the attack, but if he knew how Amu was able to purify eggs, then he had to have seen it.

"She's done it before," he spoke again, "according to Kairi's notes…." The boy hurried over to the man and handed him the note pad he had written his observations on before joining his sister once again in the crowd. Ikuto did not watch him return; instead his kept his eyes on the captain, trying to figure out what he was planning. He missed his sister's desperate gaze as she tried to make eye contact with him.

"Each time this girl has appeared, she has had the lock in her possession and used it to purify the gathered x-eggs," the captain stated. He flipped a page and nodded. "If we want the embryo to appear, we need this lock. Apparently, it's gold and has crystals on the front. She wears it around her neck as a necklace. It shouldn't be too difficult to steal."

"When do you want us to get it?" called another random pirate.

"None of _you_ will be retrieving it," the captain ordered, "Kairi will, since he knows exactly what the girl and the lock look like." The pirates grumbled, seeing the opportunity to get on the captain's good side fade.

"We will follow the guardians in secret and steal the lock when the girl least expects it," the captain explained, "besides I have a feeling I know where they are headed, and that town might be where we'll finally find the embryo!"

Ikuto slipped out the door and walked across the moonlit deck. He had heard enough of the captain's plans, and he did not like it. He _was_ secretly happy the captain had not chosen one of the older pirates to take the lock; he could handle the boy without much issue.

Ikuto pulled the key from his belt and stared at it in his palm for a moment. The door to the meeting room opened and closed softly. Ikuto glanced up and saw his sister walking over to him. Her two charas were absent, like they usually were until she called on them. They must be in their eggs. Ikuto turned his back to her and stared at the ocean and the moon reflecting over it.

"Ikuto," Utau said quietly. He felt her arms embrace him from behind.

"Did you know?" she asked. He continued to stare at the ocean, but Yoru glanced down at the blond girl and titled his head to the side in confusion.

"Did you know that the girl has the matching piece to the key?" she wondered aloud. Ikuto did not answer, but not because he was being cold to his sister. The ship was never safe for conversation, especially when the two of them spoke to each other, and Ikuto refused to put Utau in a situation where she could be in danger. She held onto him as he watched the waves. The ship would follow the guardians' soon, once the captain had briefed the crew.

---o---

"Amu!" Yaya called, "Yaya wants to go shopping!" The other guardians all turned at her exclamation.

"That sounds fun," Nagihiko agreed. The other boys seemed uninterested in the venture but Yaya pulled Rima along with them. The three girls and Nagihiko walked down the docks and into town, their charas floating along behind them, taking in all the sites. Amu saw this island's port-town was easily double the size of the last one. The city had an elaborate shopping district of cute shops with clothing along with the shops for more basic things. It seemed that everything was handmade on the island and not sold anyway else. Amu found herself in awe. She liked this town.

For the next few hours the girls and Nagihiko walked in and out of stores. Amu desperately wanted a newest of clothes, since she had worn out some of the stuff she had brought by being in the salty ocean air so much. Her old clothing was just not used to the ocean spray and had not been made to deal with it, without fraying and stiffening. Yaya was happy to pull her around to each of her favorite shops. Apparently, the guardians stopped here quite often.

When Amu had found what she wanted, they all stopped at a bench under a tree to rest for a moment. Nagihiko had since wondered off and the girls sat waiting. Suddenly, Yaya stood up and pointed down the boardwalk.

"Yaya wants ice cream!" she stated. "Rima let's go!" She pulled the blond after her, leaving Amu to watch their things on the bench. Her stomach growled and she looked around. Rima and Yaya had vanished. Her charas sat beside her on the back of the bench.

The day of shopping had taken her mind off of the previous day's events. She wondered how the others did it, day in and day out.

The smell of chocolate filled her nose and she looked up. Several strides in front of her stood a green haired boy with glasses. He held a small bag in his hands as he walked over.

"Is anyone sitting here?" he asked, pointing to the bench beside Amu. Her charas watched him as he took a seat beside her and opened the bag.

"Is that taiyaki?" Amu wondered. Her stomach growled again and she blushed, looking away from the bag.

"Do you want one?" the boy offered. Amu took the food with a thank you and said.

"My name is Amu," she smiled, biting into the treat. After a moment's hesitation, he replied

"Kairi." Amu grinned at him again. She paused and found herself staring at him.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Amu asked slowly as she finished the food in her hands. Kairi took a strained breath and was distracted for a moment when Suu squealed with delight. Amu turned to see what her chara had discovered.

"You have a shugo chara too?" she asked. The little samurai chara poked his head around Kairi's shoulder and floated up to show himself to the girls. Kairi nodded and Amu's charas promptly hurried over to the new chara and began trying to get him to talk to them. Amu watched her charas for a moment until Kairi cleared his throat; time to get down to business.

"That's a strange charm for a necklace," he spoke, looking at the lock at her neck. Amu blinked several times in confusion then reached for the necklace. She pulled it over her head to look down at the glittering lock.

"This?" she asked, "Since you have a shugo chara, do you know anything about it? It's called the Humpty Lock. Have you heard about it?" Kairi looked at the lock in her hand.

"May I see it?" he asked, trying to keep the nervousness of what he had to do out of his voice.

"Sure," Amu shrugged. The moment the lock left Amu's fingers, the sparkles stopped and Kairi was left holding a dull necklace.

"I've never heard of it before," he said, hiding the fact that it was no longer shining from Amu, "what does it do?" Amu leaned back and looked at the sky.

"I can transform with my shugo charas and purify x-eggs back into heart's eggs," she explained, "I think there might be a matching key as well, but no one knows anything about it." Amu looked around for her charas, but the four of them had vanished from sight. She was about to ask Kairi a question when she heard her name. Yaya waved at her down the boardwalk and shouted something.

"Hang on a second, I'll be right back," Amu stated. She stood and ran to hear what the younger girl was saying. Kairi sat alone of the bench for all of half a minute until he remembered what he had to do. Standing in a single fluid movement, he left the bench and jogged away. His samurai chara joined him after he entered a small park. Kairi slowed to a walk and stopped under a tree, breathing heavy from his short run. He turned around to see if anyone was following him. When he saw that no one was, he stepped forward and crashed into someone who was not there before.

"Did you get it?" asked the older boy who Kairi had run into. He looked up to see Ikuto standing in front of him, his little cat chara lazily resting on his shoulder.

"Yes," Kairi stated, still out of breath. He opened his palm and showed Ikuto the lock. The jewels had left an imprint in his hand.

"It won't work," Ikuto stated, lifting the chain with the lock on it and flipping it into his hand, so Kairi did not see that the lock decided to glow slightly with his touch.

"Why not?" Kairi demanded to know, "give it back. I have to give it to the captain!"

"I'll take the blame for it being broken," Ikuto said, "the captain won't be happy to hear it." Kairi thought about it for a second and then nodded. The green haired boy hurried away, heading back towards the ship. Ikuto watched him go and sighed. He turned the way Kairi had come and began to search.

---o---

Amu hurried between the shops, searching for the green haired boy. She had returned to the bench to find it empty. Her bags were still there, but the lock was gone. Her charas searched above her. When they had found her, they explained they had been playing hide and seek and noticed the samurai chara had vanished too late to see where he had gone off to. Amu ran faster, her bags clutched in her fists.

She came to the edge of the shops and spotted a fountain with some trees. Further on, a park with benches and more trees waited. She wondered if the boy had come this way. The views of the ocean from here were spectacular, but Amu could not spare them more than half a glance.

She walked quickly, heading for the trees, before she was intercepted. The blue haired pirate dropped from the tree she was under and held out his closed fist. Amu took a step back and was about to say something but was interrupted.

"Be more careful," he stated as he dropped her lock into her hands. Amu looked at it in shock. Ikuto watched her as she realized what he had done and turned to walk away.

"Wait!" she called. She reached out and touched his arm, her fingers sliding over the smooth, white fabric of his shirt sleeve that she had tried to grab. He paused and looked to her once more. A small grin appeared on his face.

"Thank you," Amu said. Her golden eyes began to show signs that tears would soon come. Ikuto only nodded and turned away once again. Amu stared at the lock in his hands for a moment before she slipped it back over her neck. It glittered happily.

"Ikuto," Amu asked. The pirate stopped walking and threw his head over his shoulder.

"You have the key that matches my lock, don't you?" she asked somewhat timidly. Ikuto walked back to her, invading her personal space enough to make her back up a few steps. He followed.

"Is that why you helped me?" she asked, "even though you said we were enemies." Ikuto's blue eyes glanced back and forth, searching for anyone around them. Then he held up the golden key. It was her lock's perfect mate; together they made a matching pair.

"The Dumpty Key," he announced.

"And the Humpty Lock," Amu breathed. She stared at the key that hung from the chain that Ikuto held. He took a step closer to her; she could feel his breath ruffle her bangs, but she did not move back.

"Amu," he said softly. She glanced from his hand and the key to his blue eyes. His eyes were questioning her, asking if it was alright to proceed. She saw that he had switched the key around in his fingers, pointing it directly at her, directly at the lock.

She stopped breathing for a second when she relaized what he meant. He leaned closer. Amu's heart beat faster in her chest the closer his hand got. She looked up from his hand that was just inches from her chest and saw their eyes were at the same hieght. He was not looking at the lock or the key, just watching her eyes. Her checks flared red. His eyes sparkled as he watched her expression. Just as he was about to touch the key to the lock, they were interrupted.

"Get away from her!" Nagihiko's voice shouted.

"Amu!" Yaya yelled. Ikuto dropped his hand with the key away from the lock, instead lowering his lips to Amu's ear to whisper to her.

"Easter is after the lock, be careful," he said for only her to hear. Amu shivered as his warm breath tickled her ear. Ikuto straightened and hopped backwards, putting distance between himself and Amu. He glanced at the guardians and then grinned at Amu, who was blushing furiously. He vanished with a swish of the blue tail and ears that appeared with Yoru's character change.

The guardians hurried over to Amu, who had dropped her bags and stood as still as a stone. Her charas floated around her, calling her name in an attempt to get her to respond.

"Are you ok?" Rima questioned, taking Amu's hand and pulling gently on it. Amu shook her head to clear her mind and lifted a hand to the ear Ikuto had whispered in.

"What did he tell you?" Nagihiko asked, his eyes glinted with the urge to fight to make up fro whatever Amu had been subject to, but Ikuto had vanished. Amu shook her head.

"Nothing," she answered, "I'm fine, really. Nothing happened." She felt disappointment run through her as she said the words. It had not once occurred to her that the lock and key _could _come together. But now that she thought of it, every normal lock she knew about opened, and they only opened with a key. _What will happen when we open the Humpty Lock?_ Amu shook her head again, _WE? _She wondered why she had so easily referred to herself and Ikuto as 'we'._  
_

"Let's go back to the ship," Rima stated. She still had a hold on Amu's arm, and tugged her forward gently. Amu nodded and they all walked back to the ship.

They arrived back at the ship and Tadase and Kukai greeted them. Yaya hurriedly jumped into her version of the story of what had happened that day that included Amu being kidnapped before anyone knew what she was talking about.

Kukai and Tadase were confused and decided that whatever had happened should be explained in full at the table. Amu did not want anyone to know what had truly happened and tried to play it off as no big deal. Tadase would not hear it and demanded to know what Easter wanted. Amu was forced to tell them the severely edited version of the story.

After hearing Amu's tale, which was simply that she had gone for a walk after talking to Yaya and Rima and Ikuto found her, the room was silent. Yaya added that Ikuto leaned close to whisper something to Amu and that when they showed up he left.

"What did he tell you?" asked Tadase. His fists were clenched as they rested on the table.

"Nothing!" Amu panicked, waving her hands in front of her chest.

"Ikuto is no good. He's a pirate working for Easter, you don't have to defend him," Tadase stated, "he can't be trusted. Anything he told you isn't true." Amu nodded and looked at the table. Her charas had been silent through the entire exchange; they sat directly in her line of sight, looking up at her.

The conversation died down and Amu excused herself. She dropped her bags in her room and lay on her bed. She felt the ship move under her and knew they had set off. Tadase probably wanted to keep Easter, most specifically Ikuto, away from Amu. After a few minutes of sitting in silence, she heard something. Amu sat up and looked to her desk. The basket where she kept her shugo chara's eggs was shuffling. She approached and looked over each of the four eggs. Her chara's floated over as well.

"Did you three hear that?" asked Amu. She did not have to ask again because suddenly, the yellow egg with the diamond pattern wiggled, clattering against the other three beside it. Amu's face lit up. She lifted the egg out of the basket.

"It's warm," she smiled. She craddled the egg gently in her hands and gazed lovingly at it.

"The egg is going to hatch soon!" Suu exclaimed, as she spun in place in the air.

"I wonder what she'll be like," Amu added. Ran and Miki smiled and watched Amu and the egg. The egg wiggled in Amu's hands and reflected the light the lock gave off. Amu set the egg back into the basket and got ready for bed. Maybe when she woke up, the egg would be hatched.

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And that concludes chapter 6. I hope everyone is enjoying it.

Next chapter gets exciting! Lots of action!

I really love reviews. They tell me if you like what I'm doing. If i don't get any, it makes me sad... :(


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter is nice and long, so enjoy it :) ...

Oh, I never had any intention of letting Utau have Dia... She's Amu's :) ...

With that said, onto the chapter.

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Chapter 7

Easter's ship floated just south of the town's harbor. All the pirates were aboard and the sun had almost completely set below the horizon. Everyone waited for orders, passing the time as they usually did. The pirates were sprawled out over the deck with dice or cards or telling lewd stories of when they had found themselves in the company of certain women in the town when no one was looking. Ikuto tuned them out. The captain had disappeared into his quarters and had not come out. Only recently did he send word to Kairi to join him and tell him of the mission to fetch the lock from Amu.

Ikuto lounged on the beam of one of the lower sails, waiting. He watched the other pirates silently. Utau leaned against the mast below him; her long skirts and heeled boots did not make it impossible for her to climb up to him, but they did make it harder. She stayed on deck.

It took the captain only a few minutes to realize that Kairi did not have the lock. After hearing that had happened to it, he stormed out of his room and onto the main deck. He searched the other pirates and spotted Ikuto in the mast. He marched to it, standing almost face to face with Utau before he looked up.

"Ikuto," he commanded, "get down here, now!" As much as Ikuto did not want to obey him, the captain was the one man who he could not refuse. Utau remained where she was as Ikuto landed next to her silently. The captain glared at him.

"Where is the lock?" the captain questioned. Some of the other pirates around them turned to watch the confrontation. Ikuto felt Utau's eyes on him as well, questioning him, wondering what the captain meant in his accusation. Everyone had heard the captain say he wanted _Kairi _to retrieve the lock, so the confusion was rightfully earned. Ikuto blinked and looked over the captain's shoulder. He saw Kairi standing just inside the captain's door.

"I don't have it," Ikuto replied with a shrug of his shoulders. A surprised grin tugged at the young green haired pirate's face. Ikuto saw a glimpse of it before it disappeared. He should have been surprised, but he was thinking of other things.

"Why did Kairi say he gave it to you ?" the captain frowned.

"Ikuto?" Utau questioned in shock. She reached for his arm and clung to it like a lost child.

"The guardians took it back," Ikuto explained, his voice void of emotion. He would not let anyone know that he had _given _it back; that was to be a secret shared by only Amu and himself.

"Why did you have the lock?" the captain demanded again, "I told _Kairi _to retrieve it. He told me he did."

"And he was correct," Ikuto interrupted. The boy would be free of blame; he had only followed orders.

"Then where is it," the captain shouted. The pirates that had not been listening outright to the conversation dropped all pretenses and turned to watch. Ikuto looked at the captain. The old man was red in the face and sweating heavily under his black hat, even in the cool evening air. Ikuto felt his own anger rise, but he pushed it back, letting the flames burn only through his eyes. Yoru crouched halfway behind Ikuto's neck and his shoulder, hissing as only a cornered cat can.

"I told you, the guardians have the lock," Ikuto scowled. The captain reached out and took Ikuto's shoulders in each of his hands and shoved him backwards into the mast. Utau had been pulled away by Yukari only seconds before.

"You weakling," the captain hissed, "you took the lock from Kairi to try and gain back your lost pride, and you went and got it stolen from you by those kids." Ikuto narrowed his eyes, but did not refute the claim. He would not beg, but silently he hoped the captain would drop this string of words and move on; he knew where this would end up. Luck was not on his side.

"You're useless, just like your father," the captain growled. Ikuto snapped his head around to glare at the captain. He had heard the man throw similar insults at him before, but never in front of the whole crew, and never in front of Utau. The captain loosened up on his hold, only to slam Ikuto back once more. The captain, for his age, was still a strong man. It came with the business of being a pirate.

"How can you get beaten by a bunch of kids when you have the advantage?" the captain raged.

"I could ask you the same question," Ikuto hissed. Yoru swiped his claws at the captain's hand on Ikuto's left shoulder and the man drew back with a yelp. Ikuto slipped out from under the captain's grasp and moved just out of his reach, but no further. He did not reach up to sooth the building bump he knew he would have on the back of his head either. He would not let the captain win that battle, not when he had won all the others.

"You're just like your father," the captain growled once again. He looked like he was about to say something else and then paused; he finally added,

"But this is my ship now, not yours. Your father's dishonor has made it so. You are mine to do with as I see fit boy." The captain grinned and walked back to his quarters, slamming the door behind him.

All eyes on deck flew to Ikuto where he stood silently. He did not refuse to met any of their stares and soon they all hastily returned to what they were doing previously.

Utau approached Ikuto cautiously, having been freed by Yukari earlier. She embraced him in her own death grip of a hug. Ikuto allowed himself to relax slightly in her arms but not too much. He knew she had questions on her mind. He would have wanted to shield her from learning that the captain despised their father entirely, but he could not change the past.

"Why did you ruin Kairi's mission Iktuo?" Utau mumbled into his white shirt, "We could have had the lock now." Ikuto looked down at the top of her head and remained silent.

Even his own sister would not understand his desire to protect Amu from Easter, especially when he himself was not entirely sure of the feeling's origins. They stood in silence for several minutes until the captain's door was flung open and the man himself stepped out into the last ray of the fading sun. Yukari walked out behind him, a smile on her face. Kairi appeared next. The crew watched them as the captain reached out his hands to signal he was about to speak.

"It has come to my attention that tonight was not as much of a complete failure as I thought it was," the captain grinned. He made sure to glance at Ikuto and Utau before continuing with his speech. "Kairi has informed me that this lock needs to be glowing in order to be able to properly purify the x-eggs and call upon the embryo so I can capture it." Some of the pirates mumbled in confusion.

"When the lock is not in contact with the girl it stops glowing, therefore rendering it useless," the captain announced. Ikuto tensed. Utau looked up at him but continued to embrace him.

"Ikuto?" she mumbled, "what's wrong?" The blue haired pirate was silent as he heard the captain announce the new plan, one that had no loopholes to exploit or ways for him to keep Amu safe.

"Tonight we attack _The Guardian_ and kidnap the girl and the lock!" the captain grinned. The pirates cheered and hurried to their feet to ready the ship. They loved looting ships and towns; it was their specialty. They were ill-equipped to deal with character changing kids, but they knew how to attack a ship. Now, they even had the element of surprise.

"Utau," Yukari stated, raising her eyebrow at the blond who was still locked in an embrace with her older brother, "you're helping with the attack, we need to get ready. You're the only one who can find the girl on the ship on the first try without alerting the other children of our presence." Utau nodded, realizing she was to use her two shugo charas to track Amu's shugo charas and thus find Amu. Ikuto watched her walk away as she pulled out the two eggs from a deep pocket in the back of her skirts. They opened and released her two very different shugo charas.

"Ikuto," the captain called. The boy pirate turned to face the man, who had only moments before been angry enough to throw him overboard, as he stood calmly in his doorway. He motioned for Ikuto to join him. Ikuto moved into the room and leaned against the table. The captain stood at the door with a scheming smile.

"You got lucky this time with your mistake," the captain explained, "Kairi told me afterward that you knew the lock would not work if it did not glow. He also said that the lock only works in this girl's hands." Ikuto looked away and silently wished to strangle the boy. Kairi apparently thought he had been protecting Ikuto by saying that the lock would not have worked away. Now Amu was in more danger then she knew.

"You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this," the captain said after Ikuto's silence.

"Not really," Ikuto replied; he needed to find a way to keep Amu away from Easter. The captain was not amused but kept talking anyway.

"I'm telling you this so you know that just because it worked out in your favor this time," he explained, "I'm not giving you another chance to mess things up for us." Ikuto looked up, seeing what the captain meant at the last second. The blue haired pirate leaped for the door, his fingers closing around the handle a second too late. The dead bolt was locked in place from the outside as Ikuto twisted the knob in vain. He thought he heard the captain shift a barrel in front of the door as well, but he could not be sure since he had decided to kick the door at that precise moment.

"Don't break my door," the captain scowled. Ikuto could hardly hear him. He glowered at the door for a second, before he heard the captain speak again. He sounded calmer this time.

"I'll let you out after we've got the girl," the captain stated, leaning close to the door so Ikuto could hear him. Ikuto heard his footsteps walk away and the frenzied sound of the other pirates scurrying to ready the ship to chase after the guardians. He slammed his fist against the door and scowled. Yoru watched Ikuto with his big eyes and then leaned against his neck to try and comfort him.

It did not take long before Easter's ship sailed into sight of _The Guardian_. The sun was gone and the moon high in the sky at that point. As quietly as pirates could, they sailed up and snuck across the planks they lowered, following Yukari and Utau. The blond followed her two shugo charas as they floated towards the bedrooms. They passed two doors and stopped at the next one.

"In here," giggled the little devil chara. Utau nodded and signaled to the waiting pirates. Three of them moved into the room and snatched up Amu. A muffled squeak made Yukari cringe, but it was quickly silenced with a thud and the pirates left the room with Amu bundled in her bedspread. One of her legs hung free of the makeshift bag, banging against the door frame as the pirates carried her down the hall.

Utau ducked into the room and scanned the tops of the desks and drawers. She did not see the lock and assumed Amu was wearing it. She spotted a basket and her eyes widened. The blond looked to each of the four eggs before she grabbed the basket and hurried after the other pirates. Once they all stepped back onto Easter's ship the captain gave the order.

"Sink it!" his voice rang out. The pirates shouted out in joy and the cannons exploded. Dark smoke filled the air. A cannon ball collided with the main mast of the guardian's ship. Like a great tree, the mast toppled over, each of the lines tethering it to the ship snapping with high pitched twangs. Shouts began to come from inside _The Guardian_; two silhouettes ran onto deck from the bedrooms. By then, Easter had already done the damage and was fleeing the scene.

Water rushed into the gaping holes the cannon balls had left at the waterline. The steering wheel had been shattered into nothing more than splinters. Several of the sails now had rips and the polished wood of the deck was pock-marked. The once beautiful ship now floated in tatters.

"Amu!" called a small voice from Utau's arms. She looked down and saw three sets of eyes peeking out from their eggs.

"Stay inside or those eggs will get broken," Utau threatened. The pink and green eggs shut immediately, but the blue chara eyed Utau before slowly agreeing to her demand. Utau sighed, she would normally not mind hatched shugo charas; it meant the child they were with was confident and powerful, but these four belonged to the pink haired girl who had gotten Ikuto into trouble. Utau did not understand her brother's attention to Amu, but she could see something was going on. She would do anything in her power to keep him safe.

She followed the two pirates down a set of rickety stairs through a previously locked door and into the brig. They dropped the blanket to the floor. Utau heard a dazed moan from inside it. Yukari appeared at Utau's side.

"What are those?" she questioned, looking to the basket in Utau's arms.

"Her shugo charas," Utau replied. Yukari knew all about the charas, so Utau explained why she had grabbed them, "she needs them to use the lock."

"Here," the woman said. She handed Utau a wire cage. At her questioning glance, she added, "the captain once had a parrot that he kept in here because it liked to fly off." Utai nodded and placed each egg into the bird cage. She locked the door and set it on the ground near Amu. Yukari took the key and folded it into her pocket.

"Come Utau," the woman stated. Utau saw that the one pirate moved to follow them while the other one lifted the unconscious Amu's hands and bound them together with a small length of rope. Utau turned away and left the brig.

Up on deck, she saw the last glimpse of _The Guardian_ before the moon was hidden by a dense pack of clouds. Yukari ordered two of the pirates who were standing around to unlock Ikuto. In a moment, he stepped onto the deck, glared at the captain who wore a pleased grin, and jumped up into the tangle of sails. The wind pushed them north. They headed to a town where the captain planned to test the girl's power with a new batch of x-eggs. It had all begun in this town, and it would all end in this town.

-o-

The dirty window let in just enough sunlight to wake Amu from her forced slumber. Blinking her eyes, she reached up to push away her blanket and discovered her hands tied together with a thick rope. Panic rushed through her as she flung herself into sitting position and looked around.

"Amu!" called three tiny voices. The pink haired girl turned to see her three charas and still un-hatched egg in a bird cage beside her.

"You guys," Amu breathed a sigh a relief, "where are we?" She looked around, taking in all of the room around her. She heard footsteps above her and waves around her. She knew she was in a ship.

"We were kidnapped Amu!" Ran cried.

"By who?" Amu questioned, even though she was certain she already knew the answer, "where are we?" The door to the brig opened and Amu saw a familiar face. She smiled.

"Ikuto-!" she began to say, until she saw the man who stepped through the door behind him. Her heart sank. If Ikuto was here, then she could only be one place. That man could thus, only be one person. _This is Easter's ship, and he's the captain._ Amu shivered; she was scared. It was only then that she realized she was still in her night clothes. _At least I was smart enough not to wear a nightgown to bed last night_, she thought to herself.

"So you're finally up," the captain sneered as he stepped closer. Amu struggled to her feet and backed away. She looked to Ikuto, but he made a point of _not _meeting her eyes.

"What do you want?" Amu demanded, "why am I here?" She realized then that she was the only one in this prison, "where are the other guardians?"

"At the bottom of the ocean," laughed the captain.

"You're lying," Amu chocked. She glanced helplessly at Ikuto. He looked up slowly to meet her eyes.

"Their ship was destroyed," he stated.

"No," Amu gasped. She raised her bound hands to her mouth in shock, shaking her head, willing her tears away. _ The ship can't be sunk. They can't be dead. No way. They can't. _She thought.

"Why am I here?" Amu repeated more softly then before.

"You are going to help me get the embryo," the captain stated.

"I won't," Amu answered. She heard a voice inside her head agree with her_. Yes, _it said softly, _good_. She looked at her three charas and saw they had remained silent. She stood up straighter and dropped her hands from her in front of her chest, "I will not help you. There's no way." The captain raised his eyebrow and grinned again.

"You won't have a choice," he explained, "you'd just leave all those _poor _children to live without their heart's egg?"

"No, I-" Amu tried to say.

"Because if you don't do as I say, that is exactly what will happen," the captain said as he leaned forward. Amu stepped back again; her charas pounded on the wires of the cage to try and help her.

"All you need to do is purify the x-eggs when I tell you," the captain of Easter said. He stood up once more and turned to leave. He beckoned for Ikuto to follow.

"I won't do it!" Amu shouted once more, "I won't help you get the embryo!" Ikuto glanced back at Amu a second before the captain did. She caught the look in his eyes, but could not identify the feeling completely.

"I told you Amu," the captain stated. All joy was gone from his voice, "you won't have a choice." He pushed Ikuto in front of him and walked up the steps, locking the brig door behind him.

Amu slid down the column at her back that supported the deck above her. She could feel the tears gathering in her eyes, happy they had not fallen before when she had been trying to be brave.

"Amu," Ran, Miki, and Suu cried together. Amu reached for the cage and placed it in her lap. She poked her fingers through the bars so the three girls could grab onto them. They were scared; she was scared. They sat together like that for a while.

Amu felt the sun grow stronger and the ship come to stop. Her charas had fallen asleep and Amu stood to look out the grimy window.

She saw a large town set on a tall cliff. The houses and buildings started at the harbor where the ships were docked and rose with the cliff to the very top where a lighthouse sat. The cliffs looked like they extended north for miles. She though she even saw a flash of white sand further north, secluded from the world by the sharp rocks and sheer drops.

Amu wondered how long she would need to wait here.

She was left alone for the remainder of the day, watching the activity through her tiny circular window. She found that the ship was not docked at the harbor, but instead anchored a few miles out and the pirates had to row back and forth when they left and returned later.

The day slowly turned to night. Amu had since moved to sit with her head resting on her knees on her stolen bedspread. She had no sense of time with her eyes closed and the sun no longer shining on her back; she listened to the silence of the ship around her. Amu jumped at the sound of the lock on the brig door clicking suddenly. She looked up and gathered herself to face whoever it was.

"I'm still not helping you," Amu announced, "Go away!"

"You're so noisy," Ikuto stated as he stepped into the room, "do you want everyone on the ship to know I'm here?" Amu was silent as a smile spread over her face. Ikuto stepped silently across the room and drew the cutlass from his belt.

"What are you doing?" Amu squeaked when she saw the sharp edge of the shiny blade. Ikuto grabbed her wrists in his free hand and expertly sliced the rope away. He released her and put the blade back in his belt.

"Thanks," Amu mumbled.

"Let's go," Ikuto replied without looking at her.

"What about Ran, Miki, and Suu?" Amu questioned.

"I don't have the key," Ikuto sighed. Amu snatched up the cage with a frown and followed him up the stairs. He paused at the top step. His cat chara flew to him and landed on his shoulder.

"Come on," Ikuto whispered. He reached back and grabbed Amu's hand, pulling her along. Amu had no time to feel her heart beat race in her chest, she was too busy looking around, waiting to be found out. They got to the edge of the ship and Ikuto stopped to peer over the edge. Amu looked to her charas in the cage and took a deep breath. She heard Ikuto bang his fist on the railing and hiss under his breath.

"Ikuto," she whispered. He turned to her. She knew she had asked him this before, and now she would ask him again. She needed an answer.

"Why are you helping me?" Amu asked.

"I'd like to know the same thing Ikuto," a feminine voice said from the darkness. Amu heard Ikuto mutter something through his teeth, but did not catch the words. Amu took a step closer to him as Utau stepped out of the shadows of the crew's quarters and into the sunlight from the setting sun.

"Yoru, find the key," Ikuto ordered gently. The cat chara nodded and floated away quickly.

"Why Ikuto!" Utau demanded. Ikuto was silent. Then the rest of the crew stepped onto the deck, the captain leading them. Looking around, Amu saw they were vastly outnumbered. _Where had they all come from?_ She wondered.

The pirates moved closer and Amu took another few steps towards Ikuto. He watched everyone, trying to think of a way out. The small boat he had planned to use to escape had been moved, and he did not know where to look for it even if he had the time to. He stalled for time, backing Amu into the far corner of the deck where he kept his violin hidden. The other pirates advanced on them.

Ikuto pulled out the violin case and had a moment's satisfaction when he saw the captain's face. Along with the Dumpy Key, Ikuto had worked to keep his father's violin a secret. He slipped the strap over his shoulder and looked to each of the advancing pirates. Amu shivered behind him; he felt her grab a handful of his shirt in her hand nervously.

"Found it!" came the triumphant voice of Yoru. The cat dropped the key into Amu's hand and flew to Ikuto's shoulder. Ikuto smiled for a moment. Amu worked to unlock the cage but found it difficult. Sensing Amu's panic, Ikuto drew his cutlass from his belt and pointed it at the pirate who stood directly in front of him, the captain.

"What are you planning to do?" the captain asked mockingly, "it's you against the entire crew. You'll never win." Ikuto refused to respond to the threat.

"I'll happily cut you down myself just for getting in my way," the captain stated. The rest of the crew stood silent as they watched the captain reach for another pirate's sword. The sound of steel being drawn made Amu look up. She paused in her struggles with the cage and took a deep breath. _Ikuto, you won't fight alone_, she decided, _I'll help._ She was going to make a stand. Then the little voice that she heard before echoed in her mind again. She heard the words just as the lock to the wire cage finally opened, freeing her charas.

"Good choice Amu," the voice said, only this time aloud and not only inside her head. An explosion of sparkles burst free from where Amu stood. The little yellow egg cracked and opened, revealing a fourth girl who smiled brightly at Amu. The lock at Amu's chest glittered and she felt the feeling of the transformation flow through her. When the light faded, she was dressed in yellow and radiated the confidence she wished she always had. The pirates let out collective gasps around her.

"Utau!" Yuakari shouted, moving forward to grab the blond as she stepped closer, calling her devil chara to her.

"Amu go!" Ikuto commanded. Amu looked to him and saw he stood facing neither the captain who advanced on him with a sword nor her, who stood several feet behind him near the railing. He had divided his attention between the two sides, precariously balanced. He would need to pick one.

The captain lunged at Ikuto to get to Amu, his sword ready to cut him down if he needed to. Amu reached out and grabbed Ikuto's arm, pulling him out of the way of the blade and over the edge of the railing with her, choosing for him. Smiling, she lifted the two of them higher into the air as she flew. _I did it!_ She exclaimed in her mind. Her charas flew beside her. Ikuto stared up in shock at Amu as she gripped his wrist tighter to keep him from falling and wrapped his hand around her forearm.

"You're heavy, you know that?" Amu commented as she sank lower in the air when a gust of salty wind buffeted her. She thought she heard Ikuto laugh, but he did not say anything.

They flew north, the ship fading from view in the dark as Amu moved closer to shore towards the beach she thought she had seen earlier.

After the beach came into view a few minutes later, Amu realized how far away it still was. The sparkling feeling she had felt before was fading and she began to doubt herself. _What if I can't carry him all that way?_ She wondered amongst other fears that began to surface. She heard the voice again. She realized it was the chara from her yellow diamond egg.

"No Amu!" she called, "you have to believe in yourself or you'll-" But the voice vanished as the transformation was dropped. Amu fell with Ikuto towards the ocean, still hand in hand.

"Amu!" screamed her four charas.

"Yoru!" Ikuto called, "the violin!" The cat chara grabbed the case from Ikuto's shoulder and struggled to lift it away from the water even as Ikuto fell. Amu and Ikuto hit the waves and sank under the surf, surfacing shortly after. The waves brought them tumbling to shore. Amu shivered in her pajamas as she trudged up the beach. Ikuto walked behind her, his wet hair sticking to his face. Both of them were drenched; their cloths clung to their bodies.

Yoru and the four girls sat with the violin case where the waves did not reach, all exhausted from the task of saving the precious instrument. Amu and Ikuto moved over to their charas and stood in silence for a moment. Ikuto shook his head to shake off the water and frowned. Amu saw this and laughed.

"You looked like a drowned cat," she giggled. Ikuto was about to reply when a gust of cold wind blew in off the ocean. Amu shivered and wrapped her arms around her body in an attempt to stay warm. The salty ocean water dripped down her pajamas, which luckily had not been white like his shirt. Instead, he grabbed her hand and began walking down the beach, searching the cliffs as he went. The charas sighed and lifted the case between them, trying to share the burden as best they could and still keep up. The sun was low on the horizon. Clouds gathered around it. It would soon be gone.

"W-where are we g-going?" stuttered Amu as her teeth clattered together. The wind had picked up, a storm seemed to be approaching the town. Ikuto said nothing as he kept tugging her along the beach. They walked for a short time until he found what he seemed to be looking for and turned left towards the cliffs. Amu saw the cave he was headed for and drew back nervously.

"It's ok," Ikuto promised. His voice was gentle. He had even loosened his grip on Amu's hand so she could follow him at her own pace. She stepped into the cave behind him and gasped in awe. The small opening that she had barely fit through had opened to reveal a large cavern that her school could easily have fit into. A pool of water sat untouched just inside the opening to the right, proof that the tide would cover the entrance eventually. Amu looked to the sand at her feet and saw something shining in the sand from the stray sunbeams that slipped inside.

"Ikuto, what's-" she began to ask. She would have reached down to grab the yellow object, but Ikuto pulled her forward and ignored her question.

"This way," Ikuto said as he guided her over piled rocks and up a somewhat steep sandy incline. The cavern walls were filled with small inlets and caves. Amu worried she would get lost if Ikuto abandoned her. She felt her charas floating behind her as Ikuto pulled gently on her hand to keep her moving. He led her up into one of the small caves that the big room branched off to, followed it for hundreds of steps, around small twists and turns, past more openings, stopped, and then dropped Amu's hand.

The room was dark since it turned away from the entrance and the remaining sunlight could not reach. They had been walking in the dark for some time, but only now did Amu shudder and start to feel scared. She felt her charas pulling gently on strands of her hair to let her know they were nearby.

She kicked the sand in her nervousness and heard a metallic clanging sound. Curious, Amu bent over and felt the sand around her feet for the source of the noise. She could not see anything, but her fingers eventually closed around the object she thought she was searching for. It was cool to the touch and circular. Its surface had embossed markings on it that were unfamiliar to Amu as she ran her fingers over it.

A spark caught Amu's attention and she turned to see Ikuto with his sword drawn and a newly lit candle in his other hand. She saw the rock he had just used to create the spark slip to the sand.

"Where did you get that?" Amu asked, referring to the candle. Ikuto looked to the flame and then into the darkness. He seemed just as nervous as she did.

"Ikuto," Amu questioned, "What's going on?" She squeezed the object in her hand and then realized she could find out what it was because of the candle. Ikuto moved a few steps, searching for something else, but the light was still enough to illuminate the object Amu held. Her golden eyes widened and she gasped. She held in her fingers a golden coin, an ancient gold coin, one that would have been in pirate stories of old.

Then, in a brilliant display, the entire cavern sparkled. Ikuto leaned up from the basin carved into the cave's wall that now leaped with flame. The flames burned on a thin layer of oil and wax that was spread on a sill around the entire room. Amu stood speechless.

It was not the fire that impressed her, though that was cool. It was not that Ikuto approached her silently, and she finally noticed his wet, white shirt stuck to his body and rendered it completely see through, though she did blush at the sight.

It was the fact that she was surrounded by a room full of treasure that made her jaw drop and her breath come short.

* * *

So how was it? Did you like it?

Only one or two more chapters after this. Maybe one, unless i break it up into two... So the big finale is coming up!

I'd love to know what you think at this point.

Reviews are great! I love them!


	8. Chapter 8

I decided to make 2 chapters instead of 1, so this is the second to last one, really. I didn't want to leave you all hanging longer then necessary for me to finish the entire thing :)

Enjoy ~

* * *

**Chapter 8**

The room glittered in the firelight. Stacked against the rock walls of the small cavern were piles and piles of gold and silver objects. Coins were strewn across the sand as they dripped from their overflowing chests. Trunks of silk and other fabrics were balanced on the coins and sand. A few statues dotted the golden landscape of treasure, along with several pots and barrels that lay unopened. Amu stood with her mouth open in awe. The fire glinted off the gold that lay everywhere. Her eyes turned to the piece in her hand. Ikuto approached her slowly.

"Where are we?" Amu finally managed to ask.

"This is where my father kept all his treasure," Ikuto replied, "only my family knows about it. I used to come here when I was a kid with him a lot." Amu watched him as he looked at the mountains of gold in silence.

"Ikuto!" Yoru cried. The charas struggled with the violin case for a moment before Ikuto took it from them. Amu's charas sighed in relief and collapsed on the sand.

Ikuto walked over to a patch of sand that was free from treasure in the center of the cavern. He sat down and pulled the case into his lap, flipping open the latches and pulling out the wooden instrument. Amu walked over and sat down nearby, watching the way the boy beside her examined the instrument with a careful eye.

"What are you looking for?" asked Amu.

"Water," Ikuto stated, "if the violin gets wet, it's ruined." He turned to look at Yoru. The chara cringed for a moment, but his fears were unfounded. Ikuto rubbed the cat chara's ears and ruffled his hair.

"Good job Yoru," he said. The cat purred contently as Ikuto put the violin back in its case.

"It must be important to you," Amu stated.

"What?" Ikuto asked.

"The violin," Amu stuttered.

"Not really," Ikuto shrugged, looking away as he said it. Amu hugged her knees to her chest.

"But with all this gold, if it got ruined you could just buy another. But you want to keep it safe, so it _must_ be important." After a moment of silence, Ikuto looked back at Amu.

"It belonged to my father," Ikuto explained, "just like this cove and the ship."

"The ship?" Amu asked. Ikuto nodded.

"Easter's ship," he stated, "was originally my father's." Amu watched as he turned away again, staring at the flames as they burned along the walls.

"Ikuto?" Amu said, though it sounded more like a question. He turned back to her; his eyes filled with a deep sadness that matched the music Amu remembered hearing that one night on _The Guardian._

"What happened?" asked Amu slowly.

"He disappeared," Ikuto explained bluntly. Amu only nodded. Yoru flew in front of Ikuto's face and tried to comfort him, but the blue haired pirate only ruffled the chara's hair again. Amu's four charas sat together on her knees, each silently watching. Amu felt the silence that weighed between them then.

She had never known loss, only joy and happiness. She had been lonely, but it felt shallow now compared to what Ikuto had gone through. He had expressed his feelings so well through the violin and the music he played that Amu felt she had a grasp, as small as it may be, on how he might feel. She wandered if that was why he kept this violin so close despite what he said, because it let him deal with these emotions and connected him to his father.

"Will you play something?" Amu questioned. She felt her cheeks flush slightly, and she hoped she could blame the firelight. The two of them sat for a moment, surrounded by the glittering treasure, before Ikuto moved to open his violin case once more.

"AH-CHOO!" Amu sneezed suddenly. She sniffled a few times and rubbed her nose before sneezing again. Ikuto pushed the violin aside, forgotten for the moment as he stood. He dusted the sand as best he could off of his wet pants and began rummaging through the chests amongst the treasure.

"What are you doing?" Amu asked as a full body shiver shot through her.

"Looking for new clothing," Ikuto replied, "we're both wet. You'll catch a cold. I'm sure my father won't mind." He picked up a lacy corset, raised his eyebrows in confusion and then tossed it aside. Amu shivered in her thin pajamas and rubbed her hands down her arms to get warm.

"Here," Ikuto stated. He tossed a white dress in Amu's direction. She caught it, staring at it before turning in Ikuto's direction. He was stuffing the dresses he had not chosen back in the trunk. She saw him open two others before pulling out clothing that he could wear.

"What was wrong with the other ones?" Amu asked as she held the dress up to her body but being careful not to get it wet, "I'll ruin this one. It's white and really lacy."

"None of the others would fit you," Ikuto stated. He pulled out several pairs of identical beige pants, all that looked like they would fit almost too snugly before adding, "that was the smallest one; the others were all made for," he paused to choose his words carefully, "_bigger women_." Amu got what he meant but still fumed; she was still a kid, of course she did not have womanly assets yet. She was distracted by Ikuto once more at the trunk.

"What are those?" Amu asked as she watched Ikuto pluck another piece of clothing out of the trunk.

"I'd rather _not _explain," Ikuto stated, burying the item under other clothing. He finally found a simple white shirt and piled the rest of the clothing back. He turned around and Amu saw he was also holding a large bolt of fabric, the material probably from some exotic location far away. At her confused look, Ikuto explained.

"For a blanket. It gets cold at night, even with the fire," he said, "you should get changed."

"Not in front of _you_," Amu panicked. Ikuto grinned.

"I'll close my eyes," he said.

"I don't like liars," Amu glared.

"You mean you don't trust me?" Ikuto asked innocently. Amu sneezed again.

"I won't look," Ikuto said. He closed his blue eyes and even turned around so his back was to her. Amu hesitated for a moment before she peeled off her salty ocean wet night clothes and dried off as best she could before slipping the stolen, white dress on. She did have to admit that she felt better being out of her wet clothing.

"Ok," Amu stated quietly. Ikuto slowly turned around, his blue eyes drinking in every detail of her changed appearance.

"Your turn," Amu said rather hurriedly. His gaze lingered for a moment longer until he began unbuttoning his wet shirt. Amu blushed redder then she'd thought previously possible and spun to stand with her back to him.

"No peeking," Ikuto laughed.

"As if I would," Amu snapped. She put her hands to her face to try and stop the redness from spreading. After a moment Ikuto informed her he was finished. He was dressed in the beige pants from before with a new white shirt. Amu had not seen him grab the blue and gold jacket though, or the high black boots.

"Do you like it?" Ikuto asked, smiling at her.

"The jacket might be a little much," Amu replied.

"I meant about your dress," Ikuto laughed. Amu flushed again and Ikuto replied to her original statement, "the shirt alone was too thin." There was silence as the two of them, each dressed like old time pirates from a classic storybook, stared at each other.

"You look like a real pirate now," Amu finally stated, "more than before." Ikuto opened his mouth to say something, closed it, hesitated for a few seconds, then looked Amu in the eye and said,

"That's what I _will _be," Ikuto explained. His voice was soft at first, "A real pirate, like my father."

He sat down on the fabric that he had spread on the sand. He did not pat the spot beside him, inviting Amu to join him, but he did not need to. She took her spot beside him, gathering the great dress around her as she did.

"Tell me about him," Amu prompted, "your father. Tell me about him. He's important to you." Ikuto looked at her with an intense gaze, and she thought he would refuse, but he did not.

"My father," Ikuto began, "was a great pirate. He was famous around here for his amazing feats of piracy and getting so much treasure that he and his crew did not know what to do with it all. He was a great violinist as well. I knew him for ten years before he disappeared." Ikuto paused in his story. After a moment, he began again, his fists clenching at his sides.

"He wanted to set off on an impossible quest across the ocean. He didn't say why. The night before he left, he gave me the violin, the Dumpty Key was inside the case. I didn't think anything of it at the time," Ikuto explained, "he told his crew and they, for all the years they'd followed him, told him they wanted no part of it and voted not to go. My father tried to convince them otherwise, but they seemed to have other ideas. They did not want him to leave them and rumors of how to stop him from taking them on what they called a _fool's errand_ surfaced. But my father left before they could stop him, vanishing into the night. He left without naming a new captain to the ship, without telling my mother, Utau, and I, and without a thought as to when he'd return. For abandoning his crew, his ship, his family, his responsibilities, many sailors who knew him thought him a coward. He lost his honor, as much as that's worth when you're a pirate, and became the subject of ridicule for leaving everything he had to chase whatever adventure he had dreamed of." Ikuto paused in his story again. Amu wondered if he had ever spoken the entire story aloud before.

"The ship fell into one of the lower crewman's hands. He's still the captain today. Using his influence in the failing merchant company called Easter, he took command. But he was not my father, and the crew grew to dislike him even after they had abandoned my father in his quest. The captain ended up replacing the entire original crew with men he could trust from the Easter Company. All the sailors I had grown up with were no longer to spend hours with killing time on board the ship. The captain was only interested in riches though, and sought out my father's treasure. He demanded us to tell me where it was, but since he had gotten rid of the entire crew, who only knew it was hidden somewhere on this island and had promised my father to keep his secret safe, only my family could share the secret. My mother was in no mood to speak to anyone about my father at that point. Utau was too young to remember our adventures to this cave and I would never tell him. He thought he was owed payment for being a part of the crew and wanted the treasure that you see around you. He's-" Ikuto stopped himself, seeing the tangent he was following and redirected himself. Amu listened patiently.

"_I_ was supposed to inherit the ship when my father decided I had become enough of a _true pirate_ to do so," Ikuto said, "but even though that ship had been my father's and his father's before that, it could not be mine without my father announcing it. Jealousy can drive men to evils beyond normal terms. Jealousy brings with it hatred. The captain hates my father, and as long as I'm still around to remind the captain of him, he won't think of even letting me dream that that ship is mine. He took everything my father left for me, everything except his treasure, his violin, and the Dumpty Key. But those are enough for now. I'll get the ship back and restore my father's legacy. When I get the ship back, I'll go looking for him."

"What?" Amu questioned suddenly.

"I know he's alive," Ikuto replied, "and I'll find him." The boy pirate's face held such determination at that moment that Amu could not help but stare in awe. Ikuto looked at her, breaking her gaze. He chuckled, and as she turned away, he reached for his violin.

"You're going to play?" Amu smiled.

"Just for you," Ikuto nodded. He flashed a mischievous smile her way.

Ikuto stood and set the violin on his shoulder just under his chin. The music that filled the cave once the bow glided across the strings was mesmerizing. Amu laid back on the blanket and closed her eyes, listening to the rise and fall of the melody. Ikuto played the unknown tune with such emotion; each note was not only a note, but a physical expression of what he felt. Amu smiled. The song had started out mournful, but grew more powerful as it continued.

When Ikuto stopped several minutes later, Amu was nearly asleep. She felt her charas nearby on the blanket that the fabric had become. She listened as Ikuto clicked the violin case closed and sat down again. Amu snuggled deeper into the blanket and relaxed, until she felt a pair of arms encircle her waist and pull her closer. Amu tried to get away. Her heart raced in panic.

"What are you doing?" she nearly shouted.

"Trying to sleep," Ikuto replied, he snuggled closer to her, "you're warm."

"Get off!" Amu commanded.

"So mean," Ikuto mumbled. Amu felt him pull one of his arms away and then saw the remainder of the fabric settle over the two of them. The arm was then replaced around her waist. Amu attempted to pull away again, but discovered that if she moved too far from him, there would not be enough fabric to cover them both.

Amu sighed and gave in. She felt her heart slow in her chest and Ikuto's warm breath on her ear, ruffling her hair. The five charas were curled up together as well, just under the corner of the blanket by Amu's head. Amu felt Ikuto's heartbeat, slow and steady, at her back and the heat from the fire on her face as she curled up in Ikuto's arms and drifted to sleep.

The two of them woke up the next morning, or what they felt was the next morning since they had no sun to judge the time with. Ikuto explained to Amu he wanted to move on and put some distance between them and Easter.

"The longer we stay here, the more chance Easter has of finding you," he explained, he added "and my father's treasure.

"They'll be looking for you as well," Amu said as she lifted her still damp pajamas from the rock she had laid the clothing the night before. She would not be putting on still wet clothing, even if that meant she was stuck in the white dress for the duration of the day.

"Yes," Ikuto agreed, "but only to get rid of me. Now that I've left them, I'm a threat to the captain."

Amu picked at Ikuto's clothing when she heard this. She pulled at the fabric that made up the belt he always wore; it was the wettest of all the clothing, and spotted the shiny golden key. She unhooked it from the fabric and walked over to where Ikuto knelt, filling a small bag with whatever he thought they could use without being suspicious.

"Here," Amu stated. She held out the key. It dangled between them on its golden chain. Ikuto stood and took the key, his hand briefly pausing to linger around Amu's as they touched. The moment lasted longer than Ikuto had originally intended.

When they finally parted, Ikuto looked to key and then at his new outfit. He had nowhere to hang the key from, and as much as the pockets on the blue coat were useful, he did not trust them enough to simply slide the key into them.

He settled for looping the key's chain around his neck. The key slid into place under the clasp on his coat, but over the white undershirt. Amu subconsciously moved to touch the lock at her own neck. Ikuto saw her do it and turned to grab the small bag.

The five charas followed the two of them out of the cavern as soon as Ikuto extinguished the flames on the walls, reset the rock and candle near the entrance, and grabbed Amu's hand to guide her along in the dark. They came to the main cave to find it filled with sunlight, but that was not the only surprise that waited for them.

Hundreds of x-eggs were piled in the sand, stacked in crates, and floating the air. Amu stood stone still, still clutching Ikuto's hand in her own. Her shock at the sight was obvious, but she also felt fear at what it meant.

Before them, in the center of the room, the captain of Easter stood waiting. Here he was, in the one place Ikuto had wanted to keep secret. He smiled the grin of a man who had just won a grand prize. Around him, pirates scurried like worker ants to fill the room with stolen eggs.

"Your footprints weren't hard to follow," the captain frowned. He acted disappointed, "but the tide came in and we couldn't follow you until morning." He paused and examined Ikuto and Amu's clothing. The five charas hung close to their owners. Amu saw Yoru's ears tilt back and he hovered close to Ikuto's shoulder.

"It was a good thing we had to wait," the captain continued, "because while you two were-" he paused, raised his eyebrow at Amu's fingers intertwined with Ikuto's, and let them filled in the blank before continuing, "Utau was hard at work collecting all these x-eggs from town. Beautiful aren't they?" He raised his arms to encompass the entire room. Amu could scarcely believe that there were this many children in the town above them.

"She wanted so badly for me not to hunt you down and kill you on spot that she worked through the entire night, gathering all these eggs just to please me. She worked so hard that she passed out right on deck. I wonder if she'll recover, and how she'll react to your complete betrayal," the captain grinned. Amu felt Ikuto tense.

"My sister is not your pawn," Ikuto growled. The captain shrugged and replied.

"But since my old one ran off, I needed a new one," the captain said without regret. Amu was shocked. She had not known Ikuto's sister as anyone other than the blond pirate named Utau who had worked against her, but she knew this was not right. The captain strode towards them confidently. The other pirates melted away into the background as he spoke.

"And now Ikuto, you'll get to see my masterpiece before I run out of useful tasks for you as well," he stated, and then flashed a pirate smile at Amu, "behold, my dear, my master plan to lure out the embryo. You're still the key player Amu. Now, you'll just need to exactly as I say for everyone to get out of this alive."

"Don't do it Amu!" shouted a familiar girlish voice that made tears fill Amu's eyes. Everyone turned to look at the cave's entrance, searching for the speaker. Silhouetted against the incoming sunlight, five figures stood.

"I thought you were dead!" the captain shouted angrily.

"You can't kill us that easily," Tadase said as he stepped into the cave with the other guardians fanning out behind him.

* * *

Yeah! The guardians are still alive. Did you really think I'd kill them off? I hope i made everyone happy with Amu and Ikuto's little adventure. So now onto the big finale!

I made a picture (kinda like a cover page) for this story as well. Check it out here :) (remove the spaces or click the link on my profile...)

.com /art/ Shugo-Chara-Pirates-Cover-166861910

Reviews are awesome!


	9. Chapter 9

I know the link to picture on the previous chapter doesn't work. I didn't realize fanfiction did that. To make life easier if you want to see the cover pic, just click on the working link on my profile page under the Art section. Maybe someday I'll add images of everyone in their pirate outfits.

This is the last chapter everyone...

Enjoy it

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Chapter 9

Tadase took another step forward, and the others followed him inside the cave. They looked disheveled, all of them. They were dressed in a mix of their everyday and night clothing, whatever they had been wearing or had time to throw on what they had been attacked. Amu was glad they had survived. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Tadase spotted Amu with Ikuto, their fingers intertwined and paused. Amu moved to pull her hand away, but Ikuto stopped her by tightening his grip.

"Stay," he mumbled, then even softer he admitted, "I'll need your help." Amu was so shocked that she had no words to give him; she could only nod her head in a silent promise. He smiled at her and then turned to face the captain of Easter's ship.

"This surpise was originally supposed to be used to eliminate only you Ikuto," the captian shouted, "but getting rid of all of the guardians will be fine as well. What will Utau think when she learns all of her hard work got her brother killed"

"You leave Utau out of this!" Ikuto demanded, "None of this is her fault."

"Just watch," the captain stated. He raised his hands and motioned to the crates of x-eggs filling the room. The eggs Utau had collected were part of the plan. A dark energy enveloped them, glowing purple. They floated into the air, their cries of 'useless useless' echoed through everyone's ears. Amu flinched as a group of angry eggs dove at the guardians.

"Watch out!" called Amu. Ikuto turned to her for moment, searching her face, before dropping her hand and transforming in a flash of light. He rushed the captain, his metal claw ready in one one, while the other held his sword.

Amu touched the lock at her neck, understanding she needed to help. She would need to help both Ikuto and the guardians. Amu realized it would be much easier if the guardians could transform with their charas as well. She transformed, feeling more power then usual escape the lock to fill the room. The light in the cave was blinding when Amu landed on the sand again, dressed in Ran's pink outfit. When the light faded, Amu heard excited squeals coming from Yaya. She soon saw why.

All the guardians had transformed with their charas. Amu smiled in shock. They would have admired their new looks longer if the x-eggs had stopped attacking, but they were forced into action immediately.

Amu stood rooted to the spot into the sand. A group of eggs roared past, nearly knocking her over.. Amu heard her other charas calling her name, telling her to move. Amu raised her hands to the lock.

"Open Heart!" she shouted. The eggs floating before her scattered; only a handful were purified; they floated away. Amu tried again and got the same result. She already felt drained and fell to her knees to catch her breath.

The sounds of metal clashing made Amu turn to look towards Ikuto and Easter's Captain. Swords locked, they fought a battle of wills. Ikuto broke contact and spun, slashing his claw through the air. The captain's sleeve was caught and sliced clean through. The battle went on. Amu had to look away when she heard her name.

"Amu, now!" Rima shouted. Kukai was in the air on a rocket powered skateboard, herding the last of the eggs into the group the guardians had gathered. Yaya's ducks and Rima's floating bowling pins kept the most of the eggs secured, while Tadase kept a yellow shield around the eggs that they could not escape easily, guarded by blazing blue fireballs that Nagihiko seemed to be forming at will and throwing like basketballs into place. Amu nodded at them and tried to rise to her feet once more.

She felt her knees buckle and suddenly wondered if she even had the strength to try again. She saw a few eggs get loose from the pile and realized she would only get one chance. After that, she would have no more energy left. She felt part of her tell herself not to even try, that there was no point. She heard Utau's voice in her head, changing the words that she had spoken into made-up phrases that she had subconsciously heard, 'what kind of dreams are they that they're thrown away so easily?' She could hear the x-eggs screaming 'useless useless' as they struggled to get free. She then saw the egg that Ikuto broke in the schoolyard shatter into tiny fragments once more in her memory.

"Amu!" Yaya shouted. Her ducks were being pushed back.

"You can do it!" Nagihiko and Tadase shouted, each looking over their shoulder to look directly at her.

Amu felt her muscles straining to keep her going. She had used so much energy already. But so had the guardians and they were not giving up. They were still fighting; Ikuto was still fighting. He had driven back the captain and saw her mentally fighting with herself.

"Amu," he said. She watched his lips form her name and felt a boost of new power fill her being. The lock sparkled and Amu stood once more free of doubt. She turned again to Ikuto as she stood straighter, still glowing with her newfound inner strength. She gasped. No longer was he winning or even holding his own. In her silent struggle, she had failed to notice that the swords had stopped singing. In the brief moment he had turned to her, he had not seen his opponent's attack.

The only metal that could do any damage now was the captain's blade that rested at Ikuto's neck. The boy pirate was suspended against the cave wall, his feet just inches from the sand. He hung there, supported by the captain's left forearm that pressed Ikuto's clawed hand against the wall as well as closing around his throat to keep him in the air and against the wall. The boy pirate struggled with his free hand to loosen the captain's grip. Ikuto's glare was deadly, but Amu knew looks were not enough to kill.

She would not let him be hurt. She had dragged him into this, making him choose between her and his relativity protected pirate life, and she was would get him out. Amu felt her radiance from before increase and then her breath was nearly stolen as she gasped in surprise. The cave was once more enveloped in a bright light.

The light was close by and was soft in nature. Realizing the illumination was not coming from herself or the lock, Amu turned to see a shiny egg hover over her, turning slowly, almost as if it was surveying the room. It floated away and moved towards Ikuto and the captain; Amu followed it. The eggs came within a few feet of Ikuto when the captain finally spotted it. Ikuto saw his eyes glance between him and the egg before he received a sharp shove into the rock wall, banging his head as the captain dove for the egg.

Amu dove as well, but not towards the embryo that floated just within reach. Instead she rushed to Ikuto's side just as his head hit the soft sand.

The captain just missed the egg and took his time getting up from where he fell, hoping to capture the embryo with the element of surprise.

Amu no longer cared as she leaned over Ikuto. His eyes were closed, his hair full of sand. He had a thin cut across the lower half of his neck, no doubt where the captain's blade had missed a killing slice.

"Ikuto!" Amu cried. She put her hands on his shoulders to shake him. His chest rose and fell, but Amu still collapsed with her hands gripping the fabric of his black lynx shirt. In the back of her mind she knew the guardians were still fighting with the x-eggs and needed her to purify them. She also knew that the captain would finally capture the embryo. The only thing that she could think about now was the thought of losing Ikuto; it was something she could not deal with. As she leaned over him, the lock swung forward and click against its mate at Ikuto's neck.

"Finally! I've got the embryo!" the captain shouted. Amu heard his shout of joy, but it did not register in her mind as important as her world faded and she went blind.

The fact that Amu had grown used to the blinding-light-thing took a back seat to the surprise she was met with when her vision came back. At her neck, the Humpty Lock glittered. It's perfect pair, the Dumpty Key, sparkled only inches away on Ikuto. They were both standing once more, and Amu's hands were still bunched in Ikuto's shirt, but no longer did she cling to his black outfit. Instead, soft ruffles surrounded her gloved fingers underneath the front of a blue cape. Ikuto was dressed similarly to how he had been before transformed. Only now, his outfit included a large blue pirate hat, an eye patch, black gloves, and a sharper, longer sword.

Amu felt Ikuto's eyes on her and had a feeling she knew what her own outfit resembled. It was very similar to the gown Ikuto had given her, only it was much shorter in the front, had far more ruffles, and she felt the weight of a ridiculously large bow in her hair. _Why am I wearing a wedding dress?_ Amu thought to herself. She heard her four charas giggle excited in her mind.

"No!" the captain shouted, drawing Amu and Ikuto's eyes away from each other and towards him. The embryo had vanished and the captain was left staring at his closed fist where Amu knew the embryo had rested a moment ago. She could still felt the egg's power in the cavern and wondered what had become of it just as her and Ikuto had transformed into these new transformations.

She was so busy looking around the room for the glittering egg, that Amu was taken by surprise when Ikuto scooped her up and leapt away. The rogue x-eggs crashed into the sand where Amu had been moments earlier. She clung to Ikuto as he landed, still as graceful as a cat, several yards over. He set her down and gave her one of his grins before pulling the swords out and charging the attacking rogue eggs. Kukai had lost track of them as he chased another of set. Ikuto swung his sword and called out the name of a new attack.

"Emerald Line!" he shouted as he swung the sword through the air. The eggs were blown backward into the pile and stayed there, stunned. The squirming x-eggs the guardians had already gathered were hit with the attack's aftershock and fell silent as well. Amu was amazed at Ikuto's newfound power. _Will I be that strong? S_he wondered.

'_Try it_!' Amu heard Miki and Suu's voices in her head say.

'_You've got it Amu_!' Dia and Ran's voices agreed. Amu felt a smile spread over her lips and nodded. She felt Ikuto's blue eyes on her, and she faced the mass of x-eggs and lifted her hands, waiting. Kukai flew across the cave, chasing the last of the x-eggs, the ones that had missed Ikuto's powerful blast, into range.

"Now Amu!" he shouted. Amu nodded; she did not need Dia's reaffirmation of her surging self-confidence, she could feel it.

"Open Heart Full Bloom!" Amu recited as the words came to her mind. The power she felt fill the cavern was too much for words. The x-eggs were all enveloped in the magical light of the Humpty Lock's power, her power. As the light faded, all the eggs hummed with happiness.

The guardians watched the clean heart's eggs float together for a moment, and they almost missed the captain try to make his sneaky escape. Luckily, Ikuto was not as distracted.

Still in his new pirate transformation, he cut off the man's escape and pointed his sword at his chest. The captain had dropped his own sword in his scramble to get to the embryo and had not thought to retrieve it. Amu moved to stand with Ikuto as he lifted his head to speak to the man he now held at sword point.

"You are no longer captain," Ikuto spoke. Amu felt the difference in the voice immediately. His tone was commanding; it held the promise of punishment if disobeyed as well as carrying the overtones of confidence. "The ship is mine." To prove his point, Ikuto pressed the sword forward slightly, forcing the now ex-captain to back down to avoid injury.

"Where did you put my sister?" Ikuto asked.

"She's on deck on the ship," the captain growled. Ikuto poked the sword forward again. His eyes spoke volumes; he was not in the mood to play games.

"She's safe," the captain added in a less aggressive voice.

"She'd better be," Ikuto frowned. He flipped his sword away from the captain and turned to address the other pirates of Easter who stood cowering in the shadows while the fight escalated around them.

"Easter Company is no longer!" Ikuto announced. Amu saw Tadase's eyes widen in shock. The other guardians hid their feelings no better. Only Amu knew Ikuto had planned to do this. She did not feel surprise; instead she felt a stronger feeling building in her chest. It was hard to pinpoint what it was exaclty. She was proud of Ikuto, but it was more then that. She saw the pirates turned to each other and slunk out of the cavern, taking the captain with them.

Ikuto watched them exit the cave and then followed them out, making sure no one made a move to get near his ship that was now moored in the bay outside the cave. Amu spotted a lifeboat recklessly forgotten on the beach and recognized the wood. She turned to Kukai.

"Did you guys-?" she began to ask.

"We rowed the whole way here," sighed Nagihiko. With a sideways glance at Rima he added, "most of us at least." Rima frowned and turned away, but not before Amu caught sight of her red cheeks in the start of a blush.

"Luckily, we all got off the ship safe and sound," Kukai grinned, "not that I can say the same for _The Guardian_ though. She's sunk."

Ikuto stepped away and began pushing the lifeboat towards the water. Amu noticed he once again had his violin across his back and wondered when he had retrieved it. She shrugged.

"So what do you do now?" Tadase questioned. He did not say Ikuto's name, but everyone knew the question was meant for him.

"Go to my ship, make sure Utau is ok, and start sailing," the pirate replied.

"You can't just sail randomly across the ocean without a crew though!" Yaya stated loudly. Ikuto shrugged.

"Why not?" he paused, "that's what pirates do." He sighed to himself and met Tadase's eye to eyes and stated, "I'm not after the embryo, even if it's still out there, which I doubt. I'm not looking to take any Heart's Eggs either, if that's what you're worried about."

"How do we know-!" Tadase started to say until Nagihiko hit him over the head gently, just enough to make him stop complaining.

"We'd like to accompany you," the purple haired boy stated with a grin. He glared at Tadase as he spoke again, "and it's not to keep watch over you."

"You'll get lonely without people to talk to since you got rid of everyone," Yaya stated with the start of a pout on her lips.

"And we know how to sail a ship, so you wouldn't need to deal with bad sailors to get your ship sailing," Kukai smiled. Amu saw Ikuto turn to look at each of the guardians before breaking into a smile.

"You'll have to listen to all my orders," Ikuto grinned. He made sure to glance at Tadase, but he knew he was only playing with him.

"That's a perk of being captain," Rima shrugged. Ikuto smiled and turned to Amu who stood beside him.

"Being captain has another perk," he stated as he grabbed Amu around the waist and pulled her close. He bent over slightly and met her in a kiss that took the guardians _and _Amu by complete surprise. Amu felt her heart beating wildly in her chest as Ikuto kissed her. She felt dizzy and excited and embarrassed and happy all at once. Then Amu could breathe again as Ikuto pulled away. He kept his hand around her waist and their two transformations dropped. The five charas floated free and were all smiling.

Tadase fumed silently beside Nagihiko. All Amu could do was blush when she realized Ikuto had down that in front of the guardians.

"Get that boat into the water," Ikuto called as if nothing had happened. The only hint left was the pleased grin he wore. The group moved to comply and they all got in, paddling towards the ship that was finally Ikuto's. He would find his father yet, but for now he knew he would not be alone. Amu sat beside him in the small boat. She gave his hand a squeeze and smiled up at him, her embarrassment forgotten.

The sunlight reflected off the matching jewelry they both wore. The Humpty Lock and the Dumpty Key. Amu and Ikuto. Together they sat as the guardians rowed out to where the ship was anchored, and out towards the start of a new adventure.

* * *

END

Lame ending lines, yeah i know. But i hope you enjoyed the story :)

!REVIEW PLEASE!

!I'd really like to know what you thought of the story as a whole. Favorite parts, awkward sections, if people seemed out of character, what could have been done better. You wont hurt my feelings, really... Everything you say helps me become a better writer and then you'll get to read more stories that are written to a higher standard. Anything you feel like adding is worthwhile. Even if it's just 'original idea, I loved when Ikuto said this...' that helps.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I loved writing this story, but you all made it that much more fun :D


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